A Brick in the Wall
by lady-lunastar
Summary: Nick is unable to get over losing Warrick and pushes another friend away in the process. When this friend’s life is put in danger can Nick put the ghosts aside to help the living? Set in Season 9…possible spoilers based on other rumors. Nick/OC
1. Opening Not alone in despair

A Brick in the Wall

A Brick in the Wall

By Lady-Lunastar

Disclaimer- I do not owe CSI, its characters or any music used here. If I owned any of these things I would be rich and not living in the Midwest broke like whoa. If for some unknown reason CBS starts suing fan fic writers they will get nothing from me other than credit card bills and my bill for my tuition this term. I hope they enjoy these things they way I do ;)

Summary-Nick is unable to get over losing Warrick and pushes another friend away in the process. When this friend's life is put in danger can Nick put the ghosts aside to help the living? Set in Season 9…possible spoilers based on other rumors. Nick/OC

Prelude

Not alone in despair

May 2005

Las Vegas

_I can't do this anymore…I can't do this anymore…I can't do this anymore._ His hand twitched on the gun and started to move it closer to his head. This set the ants off and they started to bite him even more. Nick thought when he was ten and compound fractured his arm that hurt, he thought being pushed out a window and breaking two of his ribs was painful, that being stalked by the guy who installed his cable was freaky. This however this took the cake, being put in a box by someone and buried underground, left to die from no air, the ants coming into the box after he shot out the light that kept taking the air away.

_I can't do this anymore…_he heard the noises above him and didn't care he just wanted everything to stop. It looked like light was coming through and than he heard Warrick's voice.

"Hey, hey, put that down we're gonna get you out of there!" Nick had the gun under his chin and was ready to pull the trigger. "PUT THAT DOWN RIGHT NOW!" ordered Warrick. Nick eased the gun away from his chin. He heard Grissom order Greg to get a fire extinguisher to kill the ants. The ants kept biting him and Nick just kept sobbing, he didn't care who saw he just wanted out of this hell hole. The next thing he felt was the cold sting of the fire extinguisher and the ants stopped biting. _Just get me out of here…please god just get me the hell out of here._ They went to open the box and he heard Catherine yelling.

"GET OUT THE HOLE! THE BOX IS READY TO EXPLODE!" He saw the other officers flee expect for Warrick. Grissom and Greg where just out of his line of sight.

"I'm not leaving here without Nick!" snapped Warrick.

"There are charges under the box!" cried Catherine.

"I'm not leaving here without him!"

"Warrick, Catherine is right. Get out of the hole now. I know what we're going to do just trust me!" ordered Grissom. Warrick looked back at Grissom and than back at Nick and got out of the hole, leaving Nick alone. He started to scream even louder.

"HELP!! HELP!! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!!" He saw Grissom on top of the box.

"Nick…can you hear me? It's gonna take us a minute to get you out of there." _I need out of here now! I can't stand it anymore!_ "NICK…PANCHO!" It was what his dad called him and he trusted his dad and he knew he needed to trust Grissom now if he wanted out of here.

"Listen to me!" He put his hand on top of the box. "Put your hand on my hand." Nick did has he was told and started to realize that they weren't going to leave him here alone and that Grissom was going to get him out of this. "Good. Now listen, there maybe explosives under the box set on pressure switches."_ Son of bitch what the fuck is next?_

"We need to equalize your body weight before we pull you out ok?" _Sure whatever just get me out of here!_

"Nod your head if you understand me," said Grissom and Nick nodded. Grissom called an order to get dirt over here and for a rope. "Alright Poncho, we're gonna open the lid and get you out but I need you to say lying down ok, or else you'll blow us all up. Do you understand that?" Nick nodded he just wanted out.

"Do you promise? Poncho say I promise."

"I promise," cried Nick. Grissom and Warrick opened the box together and Nick grabbed for Warrick and Grissom and was crying like a child. _Just get me out…I wanna go home._ Grissom secured a rope around his belt and got out the hole along with Warrick.

"Ok Poncho. I need you to close your eyes and hold your breath." Nick took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"NOW!" screamed Grissom and the next thing Nick felt was dirt covering him, the feeling of flying through the air and the sounds of something blowing up. He was above ground and breathing.

"Ok stand aside let the medics through," snapped Sara. Nick was aware of the medics putting a blanket over him and onto a stretcher.

"Ok, let's go!" said a faceless medic and Nick was in the ambulance and he heard Warrick and Catherine next to him and he reached out to them.

"Hey big guy," said Catherine taking his hand. "It's gonna be alright. We got you out." He felt Warrick take his hand. _He saw me…he saw that I was gonna blow my brains out…_

"Let's never flip for assignments again ok man." Nick almost laughed. He felt the medic slide a needle into his arm and the world started to go black.

"Just get some rest kay Nick," said Catherine. His eyes started to drop and he welcomed the darkness_._ He had never felt so alone in his whole life, this despair was overwhelming._ No one will ever understand this_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_Four hundred miles away_

"Joey…Joey baby…where are you? Its gonna be alright sweetie," said Tatum and she tried to move and found she couldn't do it. Her legs were stuck and her arm hurt. _What the hell is wrong?_ Her head hurt too and she felt something soaking her shirt. _Damn it why can't I turn around?_ She heard something knocking and it hurt to turn her head to see where the noise was coming from, but she did it and saw Eric, the rookie cop standing in front of her. _What the hell are you doing here?_

"TATE, TATUM CAN YOU HEAR ME?" She groaned and tried to move and couldn't.

"JUST GIVE US A MINUTE, WE'RE GONNA GET YOU OUT!" _Out of where…_she looked around and noticed the steering wheel was pressed against her stomach and her legs. She noticed that blood was getting in her eyes and that the window shield was broken out.

"I…where's Joey?" muttered Tatum. Eric shook his head and walked away and Tatum tried to open the car door to follow him and noticed that she couldn't get the door open. She looked and saw another car was in the way. She heard the sounds of metal grinding against metal and the door open and she started to go for her seatbelt when Eric stopped her.

"You're gonna hurt yourself, stay still!"

"Joey? Where's Joey." She couldn't hear him and she couldn't see into the backseat where he had been sitting. _Poor guy must be scared out his mind…he was screaming for me._

"Let's get you out of here ok," said Eric and felt him and someone pulling her out slowly and getting her on a stretcher. She saw that Joey wasn't in the backseat, _makes sense they would get him out first he's a kid…but wait._

"There's a tree in my car," muttered Tatum looking at her car, the little import was trashed only good for the junk yard. She noticed the passenger side was wrapped around a great big oak tree that the locals called Old Billy.

"Why…where is he?" She felt herself being strapped down and despite the haze of pain she felt herself fought off passing out and tried to find her son.

"Eric…I need to see him. Where is he? Where's my baby?"

"Get her out of here!" ordered Eric.

"WHERE IS HE!" She tried to get up and found the effort caused the world to explode in even more pain and she was forced to stay still by the medics. She looked up and recognized Donna, the weekend EMT who also worked at the nearby dollar store and she was looking at Tatum with a look of pity and despair.

"He's gonna be alright honey," said Donna in a voice that told Tatum it was the opposite of that." She and another EMT got Tatum in the back of an ambulance and she finally passed out from the pain. _My baby…where is he?_

"Tate…sweetheart can you hear me?" asked a voice. She opened her eyes and saw her father looking at her with the same look Donna had given her. He was out of uniform and off base, which surprised the hell out of her.

"Hey daddy…thought you were out of the country," she went to sit up and he made her lay still.

"No soldiers here honey, no need to be brave." She groaned and stayed laying down.

"Have you…have you seen Joey yet? I…I couldn't get to him and they won't tell me a thing. I just want my baby back." Her father blinked and she swore she saw tears in his eyes, she had never seen him cry. Not when her mom left, not five years when 'it' happened, not when grandpa died. She had never seen him break; she had never seen him cry in all twenty three years of her life.

"They tried baby, he was just…they couldn't honey." She looked blankly at her father.

"What," she sat up in the bed ignoring how much everything hurt. "I don't understand. Where is he? I wanna see Joey!" Her father sighed and took her hand.

"Honey…Joey's dead. He just...baby I'm sorry."

"No…no, no, no, no! I WANT MY SON!" She screamed at him and she tried getting out the bed and he stopped her.

"He's gone sweetie. He's gone," he just hugged her and let her cry. _My baby…my baby is gone._ She heard someone come in and give her a shot. "Just go to sleep honey, I'll be here. She felt the pain start to fade away and the world start to go black. _I'm so sorry I let you down Joey._ She had never felt so alone in her whole life, this despair was overwhelming._ No one will ever understand this._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

May 2008

"Yeah I'm looking for Tatum Fritz?" asked Nick. The nurse looked over her charts and than back to Nick.

"Family?"

"PD," said Nick showing his badge. The nurse studied the badge and found it to be the real deal.

"She's in room 3090. We're gonna keep her overnight for observation. Nasty wound she got, lucky it didn't hit anything vital."

"Yeah, you're telling me," said Nick. He and Tatum had been working Leo Finley's apartment hoping to find clues to where he had Katie Sanders and while they were there, Finley's partner came back and opened fire on them. Tatum had pushed him out the way and took a bullet in the shoulder for her trouble. Nick was here to check up on Tatum and to let her know that they had found Greg's kid; she had been next door the whole time.

Nick stopped by the gift shop and picked up a thing of roses for her before heading up to the room. _After all she did save your ass._ He poked his head in first before walking in.

"You decent?" He heard a muttered 'sure' and came in. Tatum was sitting up in a bed, half awake with her left arm bandaged and in a sling.

"Hey Nicky!" _Oh she is drugged up good._ He pulled up a chair next to her and sat the flowers on the stand.

"Hey, how you feeling?"

"I got shot…than I got a shot so I think that balances things out somehow." He started laughing and wondered what they had her on. Greg was never this cheerful after the explosion in the lab and they had him on the good stuff.

"Well I have good news for you. We found Katie and right now Greg and Jenna are spoiling her rotten and I have a feeling the trail for the asshole who took her is going to be easy, he confessed to everything."

"Well that makes everything better. Can I pay someone in jail to put a foot in his ass for me? If I could that would be great."

"I'm sure we could work something out with the guards." She groaned and adjusted herself in the bed and Nick wondered when her family was coming out. His family would have been on the first plane out of Dallas if they found out he had been shot. Hell he almost couldn't get them to leave after his kidnapping; he almost had to throw them out after a month.

"So have they called your parents yet?" asked Nick. Tatum shook her head.

"If you wanna call Iraq be my guest. I think my dad's still working there…or was he going to Afghanistan. Shit I can't remember where he's headed." Tatum looked really annoyed with herself for not remembering and Nick felt like an ass even though there was no way he could have known. _Way to go Nick._

"Your dad's in the army?" Tatum nodded.

"Contractor, he's been overseas for about a year now. When he's not there he's stationed in North Carolina."

"What about your mom?" Nick couldn't get his mom to leave his side and his father had to pull her away to eat, shower and sleep. A look of sadness and annoyance crossed her face and he wanted to kick himself again for bring up a sore point he couldn't have known.

"Well if you can get a hold of her, can you give her my number I have some things I would like to tell her."

"Do you mind me asking when you saw your mom last?"

"Fourteen. My parents were great when they were separate but as a married couple, not so great. They fought all the time when my dad was home and when they were going through the divorce my dad sent me to Utah to stay with his parents and when the divorce was final, she took off to the Holy Land, or that was were the last letter came from and I stayed in Utah. My dad thought it was better I stay with family than alone on the base. We saw each other during the summer when I would go back to North Carolina."

"Only child?"

"Yep, but that wasn't so bad once I got to Utah and saw the kids who had fifteen brothers and sisters and never had a moment of peace or TV, or sugar." Nick started to laugh and thought about something Tatum had just said and it confused him.

"So your dad is the mid east because of the Army, why is your mom. She in the service?" Tatum looked at him.

"Playing twenty questions with me?"

"No, no…just having a chat. Trying to get the girl who took a slug for me to open up a bit that's all." Tatum gave him a shy smile and took a sip of water.

"She's Jewish, wanted to reconnect with 'her roots' so she went to Israel and somehow has survived all the bombings the past twelve years."

"Do you…"

"Practice. Yeah I don't eat pork, do Yom Kippur and I was doing Chrismukkah before it was cool. I really thought about bring a law suit against those OC bastards. So let me guess…Baptist?"

"Catholic and a lapsed one at that," said Nick.

"Not surprising…most Catholics I know ended up being lapsed. I hear the nuns beat it out of you."

"Well you sit through Midnight mass and try not to fall asleep because you know if you do, your sisters are gonna poke you awake in the middle of that moment of silence and you wake up with a mini scream," said Nick.

"I'll trade you for Yom Kippur where you are told that God is gonna put your name in the Book of Life or the Book of Death when you're four. Death never crossed my little mind until than, my biggest fear was falling off my bike." They both started laughing and Tatum yawned. Nick looked at his watch and realized they had been talking for over an hour and he should go home and get some sleep before starting his next shift.

"Listen I have to go, but if your free later on this week when you get out, you wanna go out for steak. I do owe you one." Tatum shrugged.

"I wanna go to Hana Yori; they cook the steak right in front of you and the chef does this crazy, crazy shit with the food." Nick smiled at her.

"Ok. Get some rest." He went to walk out the door and Tatum called out to him.

"Thanks for the flowers. I haven't gotten any in…well a long time."

"No problem." Nick left and Tatum looked at the flowers and shook her head. _Joey was the last one to get me flowers, for Mother's day._ Tatum took another click of the painkillers and let herself doze off.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nick came in for shift that night and headed into the locker room, he wasn't surprised that Greg wasn't going to be in tonight. The last two days had been hell for him, he almost lost his daughter and his fiancée and Nick would have been shocked to see him back so soon. He was changing his shirt when he heard Catherine from else where in the locker room.

"I just…I don't know what to do with her anymore Warrick. She has ever right to be mad at me, but I really don't need her giving me crap on top of everything." Nick shook his head; Lindsey was giving Catherine grief again, than again she had been held hostage yesterday morning by the guy who attacked Jenna and kidnapped Katie so he couldn't blame her for the bad attitude this time. He went to go talk to her; he rounded the corner and saw her hugging Warrick and felt his heart start to sink. _Should have seen it…I blew my chance with her._ They didn't see him and he went back to his locker and finished getting ready for the night.

"Thanks Rick I needed that."

"Hey anytime you need to talk you know where to find me," said Warrick. Nick sighed and left the locker room unnoticed. _Well at least I know it's with someone who isn't going to screw her over and hey be happy for your friends; he just got out of a shitty marriage and well let's not even think about all of the assholes Catherine has dated._ He got paired up with Ronnie from swing and he let it slip that he has checked up on Tatum and they were going out to dinner. No one would leave him alone that night.

"Tatum Fritz? The Tatum Fritz…red hair, pale, wears Tina Fey glass once in awhile, really bitchy at times, Tatum Fritz?" asked Hodges when he went to get his results from Trace.

"Only with you Hodges because you're you." Hodges shook his head.

"I hope you enjoy the crazy."


	2. Goodbye Serpico

Goodbye Serpico

Goodbye Serpico

_No way, no god damn way he killed that fat son of bitch,_ thought Nick slamming into the break room. Warrick had been in lock up for almost twenty four hours being accused of killing Lou Gedda, a mobster that Warrick had been investigating for months behind everyone's back for killing a stripper at his club amongst other things. He knew Warrick and he knew he didn't kill this guy even though he deserved it.

Grissom was getting the case notes from dayshift so they could look it over and see if they were right. _And they won't be he didn't kill Gedda._ Catherine came in and started drinking a cup of coffee, she had been to see Warrick and had brought him a change of clothes and told him that Warrick seemed to be doing alright, considering. She looked pale, tried and freaked out of her mind.

Nick didn't know what to say, he was trying to understand why Warrick didn't tell him what he was doing. Nick knew he would have tried to talk him out of doing something this dumb that could cost him his career and that wasn't worth it. _Guys like Gedda get there's in the end, don't bring yourself down with them._ Even if Warrick had told him, he would have kept it to himself, maybe even try to help him so something like this wouldn't happen. _Too late now._

Greg came in behind Grissom with the case notes and they all sat down at the table and started to pour over everything. Everything in his years of experience told him the evidence wasn't lying, but his gut was telling him that everything was wrong with this. _Guys like Warrick don't go off and kill people like this and even if he were, he wouldn't let himself get caught like this. Passed out at crime scene with the body._ _He's a CSI, if he wanted to kill Gedda he could do it and clean up the scene and well not get caught._ Grissom sighed and sat a report down.

"If this was any other suspect, what would be our conclusion?" asked Grissom. Catherine looked at the table or at the reports avoiding the question. Nick knew the answer but it wasn't the right answer and he wasn't going to say it out loud. Greg decided to speak up first.

"That he did it."

"Which is what Warrick told Internal Affairs," said Grissom. Catherine looked shocked.

"He confessed!"

"No, but he didn't deny it. He says he can't remember," said Grissom sounding lost and that shook Nick a little. Grissom was a rock and nothing moved him. _Grissom can't think that Warrick did this._

"And we've all heard that one before," said Greg

"And what's that suppose to mean!" snapped Nick sitting up in this chair. _You can't honestly think that, you know Warrick, we know Warrick._ But Nick had to admit Greg had a point, if this was anyone else he wouldn't buy the 'I can't remember' line.

"It's not supposed to mean anything we're just talking," said Greg. Nick sighed. Greg had a point, they were talking out a case, he needed to keep it together or his friend was gonna get screwed over.

"Well we can't just sit here and watch him go down," said Nick.

"We're not going to," said Catherine. "He's asked for an attorney, we'll get him a shark." Greg shook his head and Nick had to agree with what the younger CSI was probably thinking. Anytime, anyone walked into court with the really good attorney it meant they were guilty as hell.

"All the jury is going to see is a rogue cop with a vendetta. I've been there before, the jury is gonna be crucify him." Henry came into the room carefully.

"Hey sorry to interrupt, but you need to see this." He handed a report to Grissom. "There were traces of chloroform in Lou Gedda's blood and tissue. Now chloroform goes through the body pretty quickly and gets exhaled. Gedda had to be killed soon after he was dosed in order for it to still be there."

"Warrick went in there with a gun. Why would he need chloroform if he was gonna shoot him?" asked Catherine looking at the report.

"Maybe to get him into the barber's chair," suggested Greg.

"So he intended to torture him?" asked Catherine. Greg shook his head and before he could explain himself Nick cut him off. _He wouldn't do that…I know Warrick._

"No, no way man. Not Warrick," voicing his thoughts. Grissom got a look in his eyes.

"You know exposure to chloroform can result in short term memory loss. Warrick says he can't remember anything that happened when he went into Gedda's office. Where's the tox on Warrick?" Henry looked twitchy.

"There wasn't any drawn."

"Why not?" asked Catherine.

"The arrest report didn't note any intoxication at the scene so no one thought to do it," said Henry.

"Well now there is a reason," said Grissom. He pulled out a tox order form and told Henry to put a rush on Warrick's sample. Henry left the room quickly and Grissom spoke up again.

"If Warrick was dosed at the scene, he wouldn't remember anything. Nick come with me, we're gonna start looking through the physical evidence. Greg go help Wendy with the DNA to see if any other DNA was found at the scene."

"Yes sir." Greg left the room and Nick followed Grissom to the layout room to look over Warrick's clothes and what was brought back from the scene. They pulled out Warrick's clothes and waited for the blood test results that Henry had a rush on. An hour later Henry paged Nick for the results.

"Sorry. It was there," said Henry handing Nick the results back.

"Not your fault, we just thought it too late," muttered Nick. He went to leave and Henry called out to him.

"Hey we know Warrick didn't do this and we want you know that your local lab rats are behind this 100 percent." Nick managed a smile, he guessed that word had gotten out that he blew up at Greg about Hodges going to IA and the lab rat gossip line.

"Thanks man, we need it." He went back to the layout room and saw that Grissom was with Hodges and they were looking over Warrick's shirt. Nick broke the bad news to Grissom.

"Henry did a comprehensive drug test for chloroform and it came back negative." Grissom looked disappointed and Hodges spoke up.

"Chloroform has a half life of 1.5 hours; it's undetectable in seven to ten hours."

"We drew the blood too late," muttered Nick. _Damn it, why didn't we think of him being drugged. It would have explained why he couldn't remember. _ "It's still possible Warrick was dosed and we can't prove it." Grissom was studying Warrick's shirt and he had this look on his face like he didn't really like what he was seeing.

"Nick come here and take a look at his shirt." Nick came over and Grissom pointed out what he had noticed. "There is a void in the spatter around the armpits." _That's not right at all._

"It's like the fabric was folded when the spatter happened."

"It's like he had something under his arms." Grissom pointed at Hodges who was wearing a lab test shirt. "Grab Hodges from behind, under the armpits." Nick nodded and grabbed the most annoying lab rat roughly. "Now dead weight Hodges slump down." _God you are heavy, if I do decide to kill you one day, I'll need help tossing the body,_ thought Nick.

"Ok Nick, raise his right arm and pretend he has a gun," said Grissom. Nick followed the instructions and saw what Grissom was getting at.

"It's possible. If Warrick was knocked out or out of it he would have had to have been supported." Grissom grabbed a spray can.

"Based on the high velocity spatter, he would have had to be within three feet of Gedda when he fired." Nick turned his head and closed his eyes and mouth knowing what was coming. Grissom sprayed the shirt and Nick got a small dose of satisfaction knowing Hodges got it right in the face. "Ok take off the shirt." Hodges took it off and they looked at Warrick's shirt and the test shirt.

"Similar void in the pattern," said Grissom sounding pleased and while Nick was too, he thought about a jury.

"Similar but not conclusive, you can explain that void a dozen different ways. It doesn't rule Warrick out has the shooter."

"But it gives us an alternative explanation of the evidence. If we're right, Warrick was framed."

"Someone wanted Gedda dead and who better to blame than the cop who had it out for him," said Nick.

"Get someone on the phone in Organized Crime and see who hated Gedda enough to go through this much trouble," said Grissom.

"I'm on it," said Nick and he left the layout room. _I knew you didn't do this…were this close to proving it. Just hang in there Rick!_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nick was pouring over page three of a ten paged list of people who really, really hated Lou Gedda. _Damn this was the short list too._ He circled another name that sounded promising when a cup of coffee was sat in front of him. He looked up and saw Tatum standing there.

"Wow. You know a good friend will bail you out of jail; a great friend will be in the cell with you saying 'damn we fucked up!' I guess you're an ok friend trying to get your friend out of jail." He raised an eyebrow and took the coffee.

"If you wanna help take pages five through ten for me." Tatum shrugged with her good arm.

"I got called in on my day off and have done a B&E with a sexual assault, a domestic disturbance where the girl's cat defended her and a drunken frat house boy falling off a roof and breaking his neck on the way down. This is my first breather all night." She sat down through and grabbed a copy of the report.

"I think you should buy me another steak…or maybe I can talk your buddy into one after we prove him not guilty." She grabbed a highlighter and started looking.

"You don't think he did it?" asked Nick sipping the coffee. Not Greg's Blue Hawaiian, but alright.

"If you were going to kill someone would you be dumb enough to let us find you in a pool of the guy's blood? Warrick isn't stupid and he's not a killer. I think I worked my first case out here with him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, when I was first on Days, a car pile up crossed shifts and we worked it. He wouldn't let me punch the guy who had been drinking and driving. So based on the fact he wouldn't even let me clock a drunk who won't remember it anyway I don't think he killed this guy." Nick shook his head and cross another name off the list, the guy was found dead months ago. He needed to get on the OC unit to update things.

"So you don't like drunks?" asked Nick. She took a sip of her coffee.

"We all have our triggers, my turn offs are drunk drivers, people who hurt kids and abusive spouses. However I like long walks on the beach, Japanese anime and dancing."

"Wife beaters, people who hurt kids and animals, and drug dealers…just some pet peeves," said Nick. Tatum looked over the list and frowned.

"God what kind of name is Tito Marconi?"

"He runs a racetrack outside of city limits along with other 'interest.' Rumor has it Gedda not only slept with Tito second wife but his twenty year old daughter," said Nick

"Really…nice." Nick almost snorted coffee out his nose. _What the hell is wrong with you focus on this._

"Hey you what Tate, I think I got this under control. Thanks for the coffee though, I haven't slept in almost twenty four hours I needed this." She gave another little half shrug.

"All a part of your friendly neighborhood swing shift." Tatum's pager went off. "Perfect timing, the rape kit has a CODIS hit. I would wish you luck, but I don't think you need it." She got up, left the room and gave Catherine a wave when she left. Catherine waved back and came into the room and gave Nick a huge grin.

"Really Nicky, she's twenty six, you're eleven years her senior and you outrank her."

"And Grissom is how much older than Sara again?" Catherine held her hands up in surrender gesture.

"I'm just saying, she's cute though, easy to work with, doesn't take any shit…I wish I had gotten my act together at her age."

"Are you playing match maker now? We had one dinner, because she took a bullet for me and I owed her that much, nothing romantic or long term about it. We're friends and co-workers," said Nick. "Tell me you came in here for some other reason than to torture me." Catherine smiled and sat a report down on the table.

"Warrick was framed and we just proved it."

Nick grabbed the report and started to read it quickly. It turned out that a recovered print from a case Nick had been working earlier involving the dead PI Warrick hired to investigate Gedda was also at the Gedda's murder. It belonged to a beat cop named Daniel Prichard and was in the wind right now. The PI had also been dosed the same way Warrick had and Prichard's handcuff key was recovered and it tested positive for blood. _ I knew it! I knew you couldn't do this man!_

" Brass is processing him out now and Grissom is working with Ecklie to see that Warrick doesn't get fired. I'm now waiting for hell to freeze over at the sight of them working together. So team breakfast, could you go get Greg? He's still running DNA with Wendy and is probably ready to collapse."

"We going to Franks?" asked Nick grinning at the report like it handed him the world's greatest gift.

"Where else would we go? See you there." Catherine almost skipped out of the room and Nick shook his head and headed down to DNA where he was almost ambushed by Mandy.

"Is it true? Is Warrick getting out?" asked Mandy.

"Yeah. He was framed!" Mandy jumped into Nick's arms and bear hugged him. Not an easy feat for someone Mandy's height.

"Hah I knew it, Archie knew it, we all knew it! You gonna tell Sanders and Wendy?"

"On my way right now." Mandy just grinned and went bounding down to DNA and rushed in.

"Guys…Warrick is innocent!" cried Mandy. Greg and Wendy looked up from the test tubes and swabs liked they had been hit by lighting at the same time.

"What?" asked Greg and Wendy together. Nick came up behind Mandy and couldn't stop smiling. _This is just…wow! _

"We found a mole in the department, Daniel Prichard killed the PI and Lou Gedda and than framed Warrick. The DA is dropping charges and from what Catherine told me Grissom and Ecklie are trying to talk the Undersherriff into suspending and demoting Warrick." Wendy hugged Greg and started jumping up and down in his arms. _Oh the lab girls never used to be this loving._

"Down girl!" said Greg taking a step back.

"Grissom is treating the team to breakfast you in?" asked Nick.

"Of course we the lab rats go back to the trenches without thanks," said Mandy with a sigh.

"I'm too tried to eat a thing," said Wendy taking her gloves off. "I'm going home. See you guys later."

"I'm sure Grissom wouldn't mind if you tagged along," said Greg and Mandy shrugged.

"Actually Mr. Johnson owes me breakfast. I'll take you guys up some other time," Mandy left the lab and Greg followed Nick out.

"Let me call Jenna to tell her Warrick got off and that I'll meet her later." Nick didn't see why Jenna and Katie couldn't have breakfast with them. _After all the team is family, Jenna is practically family anyway, she just doesn't have the badge. Beside it would be nice to see how she's doing._

"Just tell her to meet us at Frank's man, we haven't seen her or your midget since we found her two weeks ago. I was wondering if you were gonna let anyone see either one of them again."

"Jenna wants to have everyone over for dinner next week to celebrate Katie's birthday. But since you miss her and my kid so much," Greg pulled out his phone and called Jenna. Nick listened to Greg talk to Jenna and saw the younger CSI smile.

"Yeah we're still leaving today, Warrick was framed and we got him off. You feel up to breakfast to celebrate?" asked Greg. Nick could hear through the phone a baby chattering and he saw Greg's smile get bigger. "Frank's." Greg hung up and turned to Nick.

"She's gonna meet us there with Katie. Can I ride out with you?"

"It will cost ya," joked Nick.

"Will you take Jenna food has payment?"

"That is a dumb ass question man. So what are you leaving town for?"

"Oh it got so crazy I forgot to tell you. My book is done and me, Jenna and Katie are heading to L.A. and meeting with three book publishers. My parents are gonna take Katie off our hands and Jenna is gonna use her magical business skills to help me not get screwed over."

"I guess it's a good night for everyone all around than," said Nick.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

They were all gathered around a table at Frank's when Jenna came in with Katie who was very awake and playing with her mother's hair and chattering at her. Nick smiled at the sight of mother and daughter, they looked ok despite the hell they went through a few weeks ago. All of his nieces and nephews were out of state and with the exception of holidays and birthdays he didn't see them that often. Katie was the closest thing he had to a niece close by. _God she was the tiniest thing when you first saw her._

"Is she always this chipper so early in the morning?" asked Catherine. Jenna shrugged.

"We normally get up this early to get ready for daycare. I try to be in the office by five. Thank god for Vegas and twenty four hour daycare during the week. Plus she'll be ready for her nap when we take off in a few hours so hopeful we won't have a crying baby on the plane," said Jenna. A waitress came up and everyone placed their orders for breakfast.

"Hey chatterbox haven't seen you in awhile," said Warrick reaching across the table to take Katie's hand. She held on to Warrick's fingers and babbled at him loudly, Warrick gave her a smile. "I see the talking is genetic." Katie just babbled at him even more and Jenna shook her head.

"She gets it from her father." Everyone started laughing except Greg who appeared wounded.

"I'm hurt. You talk ten times more than I do."

"No, it would be physical impossible for her to do that," said Grissom and everyone started laughing again.

"I do remember you offering to pay me by the word," said Greg.

"The lab couldn't afford it," said Catherine.

"Oh that's just mean," said Greg.

"Truth does hurt," said Warrick sipping his coffee. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure," said Jenna. She got up and handed her over to him. He stood her up in his lap and started talking to her.

"Hi honey. You being good for your mommy and daddy?" Katie decided to play shy with Warrick and she buried her face in shirt. "Oh you wanna play that way huh?" He started to tickle her and she started laughing. It was all fun and games until Katie got a fistful of Warrick's hair and pulled. "Oh ok…I give…I give," said Warrick handing her back to Greg. Nick shook his head and laughed at his friend's misfortune.

"Told you she's a puller," said Greg.

"You just got schooled by a midget man," joked Nick. The waitress sat down the orders and Greg started to feed Katie scrambled eggs from his plate and everyone started sharing stories about mishaps they had eating here when Greg bit into an eggshell.

Catherine had the best story about when she and Sara went here and they served her real bacon despite her repeatedly telling the waitress if they didn't have turkey bacon she didn't want any.

"She got so pissed off and she just went off and I had to almost drag her out of here. I'm surprised that they let her back in. All she kept saying was 'the poor piggy died for nothing!' I told the cook and wait staff that it was because she had worked over twenty hours straight and had worked a scene at a butcher shop and she was traumatized due to the dead pigs she had to process." Everyone started laughing; Grissom even had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.

"I know it was lame but it just reminds me what do you have to do to get them to serve turkey bacon in this place?" asked Catherine.

"Turkey bacon isn't going to make the food any better," said Nick.

"Thankfully we don't come here for the food," said Grissom. Everyone muttered in agreement.

"Well as far as I'm concerned there's no where I rather be," said Warrick. Catherine gave a mocking tear noise and Jenna grabbed her purse and she had the biggest grin on her face.

"Actually if you want good food, you have two chances for very good food in the near future. Next Sunday I'm making cake and lasagna for someone's first birthday," said Jenna looking down at Katie who gave her mother a look that clearly said, 'Who, me?' _God she's a year old already…Jesus it doesn't seem like a year has passed._

"When's our second chance?" asked Warrick. "I can't remember the last time I had a decent meal." Jenna grinned again and reached into her bag.

"I was going to save these for when we came back, but since the gang is all here." Nick was happy that she considered them family has well, most of the people who came into the circle never really seemed to click. The job just killed relationships, Warrick's divorce was a sigh of that and the fact that Catherine couldn't date anyone longer than three months. _And let's not even go into my own failed record._

She pulled out a small stack of envelopes and handed each person one. Grissom opened his first and smiled.

"Please reserve the date of September 20th 2008 for our wedding. Bellagio Hotel. I don't think I've processed a scene there in almost five years," said Grissom.

"I don't want to know," said Jenna.

"Wasn't the vic found in a hot tub with a bottle of wine shoved somewhere very uncomfortable?" asked Catherine.

"Lalalala I really don't want to know," said Jenna.

"They could have gone with Paris Las Vegas. I think the room 1075 should have been destroyed after what happened in it," said Warrick.

"Semen on the ceiling I will never know how that happened," said Nick getting a laugh out of everyone.

"It looked like a Jackson Pollock painting from the crime scene photos," said Greg.

"I hate you all," muttered Jenna causing everyone at the table to laugh. _At least she has a sense of humor about the job._

"If you have one for Sara I'll send it to her," said Grissom. Jenna dug around in her bag and got another one and handed it to him.

"I forgot to ask her," said Greg.

"Ask her what?" asked Grissom.

"I wanted to see if Sara wanted to be in the wedding party as the best man…well best woman." Nick raised an eyebrow. _Sara in a wedding…did he forget how much Sara hated weddings._

"Did you forget that Sara was anti wedding?"

"No she was anti stupid, people doing things based on tradition with no clue why," said Greg.

"God Sara in wedding attire I'll come just to see that," said Warrick.

"So who else in the wedding party Greggo," asked Nick.

"Keep being an ass and it won't be you," said Greg finishing his coffee.

"You have twenty four hours to pick your party or I'll pick it for you," said Jenna. _Girl knows how to keep him in line._

"And the bridezilla comes out," joked Catherine. A waitress came by and dropped off the check.

"Thanks for coming in," she smiled at Nick and walked off. _Damn…well why not try for another failure in that department_. He just grinned looking at her and Warrick smacked him.

"Don't make me tell Tatum that you're flirting with other girls behind her back, she'll hurt you even with one arm still messed up."

"I take her out to one dinner and everyone thinks were together. I owed her a dinner that was it," said Nick. _No one is going to let me live that down._

"But you look so cute with her," teased Catherine. Warrick grabbed the check.

"I'll take this."

"Well thank you Warrick," said Grissom.

"I owe you guys," said Warrick. Grissom shook his head and gave a smile.

"I'm going home. Try to get some sleep," said Grissom patting Warrick on the shoulder.

"We should get going too," said Greg.

"Plane leaves in two hours, but with parking and bag check and who knows if Katie is on the 'do not fly list' yeah we should get going," said Jenna.

"Thanks for breakfast, wish me luck," said Greg.

"Thought luck was for those without skill," said Warrick.

"It never hurts," said Greg.

"Wave bye-bye," said Jenna taking Katie's hand and having her wave. "Say bye bye."

"Ah bye-bye-bye!" cried Katie wiggling in her mother's arms. Everyone stopped and looked at her.

"I'll be damned," said Jenna.

"Well she's up to six words now," said Greg.

"I really don't think bah and gee-gee count has words," said Jenna.

"I say it counts. Bye bye sweetie," said Warrick.

"Uh…bye bye," said Katie.

"Bye," said Jenna. Greg held the door open for her and they left the restaurant. Nick could hear her chatting outside at them.

"Bye-bye-bye-bye!" Nick smiled.

"She is going to talk some guy's ear off someday," said Nick.

"You think Greg is gonna let her out of his sight after what happened two weeks ago," joked Warrick.

"I have a feeling that when Katie does reach that age, Greg will get over his gun phobia," said Catherine. "She looked at her watch. "I should head home and get Lindsey off to school." She leaned over to Warrick and smiled at him. "If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me right?"

"Yeah." She kissed his cheek and grinned. "Bye boys."

"Bye," they called out after her. Nick leaned back in his chair and grinned.

"Well, just you and me now Serpico. How about we grab a beer?"

"Oh no," groaned Warrick and Nick frowned.

"Come on you're a free man now."

"This free man needs a free shower. I smell like a jail cell. Maybe you see if that red head will take a hot shower with you."

"I just might do that," joked Nick. Warrick paid the tab and grabbed his jacket. "Hey I'm really glad you're ok." _I just wish you would have told me man._

"Thanks," said Warrick. He shook Nick's hand.

"I'll call you later," said Nick. Warrick walked out the door and Nick turned his attention to the waitress walking behind the counter and disappearing into the kitchen. Nick waited for about five minutes and decided to call it a night._ Beside knowing my luck she's only nineteen…I get enough grief about Tatum and nothing happened._

Nick got into his car when he saw an ambulance blaze past him and Nick knew that never meant anything good for anyone. He got into his truck and turned on the PD radio to see if he should go an assist if needed.

_We have an officer down in the alley behind Merkee cross street Walden. All units please response._ Nick groaned thinking that it was a good thing he had called it a night. He put his truck into drive and headed that way, the ambulance was already gone when he got there. He got out his truck and studied the car in the alley and felt something horrible settle into his gut. He approached a rookie and showed his ID.

"CSI Stokes, what happened here?" The rookie looked at Nick and all color left his face.

"Sir…I think…" Nick's eyes were adjusting to the dark and he recognized the car and felt his heart sink.

"You tell me what happened now!" The rookie sighed.

"CSI Brown was shot sir…he's on his way to Desert Palms right now." Nick almost felt his knees give way under him. _We…we were just talking._ The rookie was saying something else to Nick but he was already gone. He got back in his truck and started doing ninety down the Las Vegas streets. _NO, NO, NO, NO GOD DAMN-IT NO!_ He didn't remember reaching the hospital, getting out of the truck, or asking the nurse about Warrick. But he soon found himself on the tenth floor with Grissom and Greg. _Greg was on his way to the airport, he would have been closer. _Greg hung up his cell phone just has Nick's own went off.

"We were calling you…Catherine heard on the radio and called me," said Greg. Nick nodded and sat down. Grissom was wearing a pair of scrubs and looked like he had been crying.

"What happened?" asked Nick.

"I was leaving and I heard the shots and I went to see what is was and I saw Warrick's car and he was there and wounded. He had tried to get out of the car and…I called for help." Catherine came into the waiting room, breathless and red eyed.

"How is he?" she asked.

"We don't know yet," said Greg. Catherine sat down next to Greg and put an arm around him.

"Where's Jenna?" asked Catherine. Catherine had just found out that Jenna was her half sister and it seem natural to Nick to want her sister. _She's family after all._

"I sent her home with Katie, asked her to wait for me there."

"So now we just wait," said Grissom quietly starting into space.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

They sat for hours in the waiting room, Grissom sat still as a statute, Greg sat in his seat drinking a glass of water, Catherine sat in her chair a million miles away and Nick couldn't sit still and paced the small room. _I was right fucking there…should have walked out with him, insisted on going out for that beer…god I'm such a moron!_ It had been three hours since they brought Warrick here and Nick prayed that he was gonna make it. _Come on man, fight it!_

A doctor came out and looked at the group and came up to them. He stopped pacing, Greg and Catherine stood up and Grissom turned to face the doctor.

"Is he…" asked Catherine and the doctor cut her off.

"I'm very sorry," Catherine fell back into a chair, Greg seemed lost and Grissom seemed broken. _No…not Warrick…he wouldn't quit like this!!_

"What happened?" asked Grissom without any tone in his voice.

"We tried everything, but the wound to the neck is just too much. The bullet went through the spine to be honest the only thing keeping him alive right now is life support. He was no brain function at all. I am very sorry."

Catherine started weeping in her chair, Greg dropped his glass and didn't realize it. Grissom looked up at the ceiling and Nick couldn't stand it. He let out some sort of noise and left the room, he couldn't stand being in there another second. He didn't know where he was going and he sat down in the hall and sobbed for Warrick, his best friend was gone. _After everything we did…everything to save him and we failed in the end._

"Nicky," he heard the soft female voice speaking to him and he saw Catherine next to him. " Grissom has power of attorney and he's gonna take Warrick off life support. He wouldn't want to be like this. We…the doctor is going to let us say goodbye. You…you should…you we the closest to him. _No I wasn't…he didn't tell me what he was going through, he needed help and I didn't help him…I failed my best friend._

"Cat…I." She almost glared at him.

"We're a team…we're saying goodbye." She took his hand and made him go back to that room and down a hall. Grissom was standing in the door watching Greg talk to Warrick in the bed. _We used to give Greg shit all the time, we didn't he could cut it as a CSI…guess Greggo gets the last laugh._

"Greg," said Catherine softly. Greg looked up and Nick saw him fighting the urge to cry.

"Adjø meg venn." Greg got up and left the room. He stood next to Catherine and Grissom. Nick saw that they weren't going in and he went in and looked at the shell that was once his best friend. Nick wanted to grab Warrick by the shoulders and yell at him for quitting on him. _I didn't quit on you, I fought for you and this is how you repay me…I almost blew my brains out and I didn't because you told me not to quit and now you quit on me! _Nick couldn't stand it and he left the room crying like a child.

Catherine sighed and went into the little room and talked with Warrick like he was gonna get up and give her a hug like he did a few hours ago, she didn't cry and when she was done she stood up, ran a hand through Warrick's hair and kissed him on the forehead.

She came out the room and her eyes started to water. Greg put a hand on her shoulder and she reached up and squeezed his hand. Grissom handed the finished paper work to the doctor and went in the room with the doctor. The doctor started turning machines off and unhooked Warrick from the breathing tube. Grissom didn't say anything; he just stood still watching the heart monitor go down. _55, 35, 15, 2, 0_. The machines started beeping and the doctor turned the monitor off. They saw his mouth move, pronouncing time of death. Grissom nodded and the doctor left the room and the doctor gave them a nod. _That's it…he's dead and you give us a nod...people say we're cold and heartless. _

"His personal effects?" asked Catherine.

"I turned them over to a CSI Ronnie Lake. She was going to take them to be processed."

"Thank you." The doctor left them and they looked into the room where Grissom was still standing. _He can't let go either._ Catherine went in and touched his shoulder.

"Gil…we should go. We can't do anything else here." He nodded and Catherine took him out of the room.

"Someone…we need to tell Brass and the lab," said Grissom.

They all left the hospital together like the family he had come to trust and went to the lab to break the news about Warrick Brown's death. They ran into Ecklie first thing

"It would be best for you to step back and go home," said Ecklie softly looking at the team with pity. _No, I want this case!_

"No, we have a case, Warrick," said Nick. Ecklie sighed and looked at Grissom.

"Undersherriff McKeen's is asking that you guys not take this one. You can have the case notes, like with Gedda but you can't touch the scene. Swing is already covering this one." _I want this case and I'll be damned if someone else works it._ Nick went to open his mouth and Catherine put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's right; we're too involved to process this right now. Come on Nick I'll take you home," said Catherine. _I don't care how involved we are…someone killed Warrick and they should start digging their grave._

"Gil we need to talk," said Ecklie. Grissom nodded and went to his office leaving them there.

"Can I get a ride with you Cat? Jenna has the car." Catherine nodded and they left together. Greg sat in the back and Nick took the front seat and stared out the window. _He's gone and there is nothing I can do about it…I can't help him this time, I let him down._ Nick hated that car ride, it was to quite and everyone was lost in there thoughts and Nick just wanted to scream about the fact that they didn't even try to fight with Ecklie about working the case. When they got to his house he jumped out of Catherine's car, went into his house and slammed the door. He locked it and ignored Catherine knocking on his door for almost twenty minutes.

"Nicky, Nicky come on please let me in." he heard her calling through the door.

"Go home Catherine. I wanna be alone right now."

"I'm not leaving till you let me in!"

"Than stand out there all day than!" He went downstairs so he didn't have to hear her knocking. He sat down in a chair and looked around the room. He thought about all the time they had hung out here, him, Greg, Warrick and sometimes Archie or Bobby playing Halo or watching football. He looked over at the sofa where Warrick had crashed when he and Tina were fighting.

"_Sorry it's not four star hotel quality but it's clean," said Nick showing him the made up sofa._

"_Hey any port in storm man. I owe you for this," said Warrick._

"_What are friends for? Beside maybe a few days apart is what you two need." Nick handed Warrick a beer from the mini fridge and they sat down together. _

"_She gave me divorce papers…I think she wants more than a few days."_

"_Until they're signed you're still married, still got a chance to fix it." Warrick laughed._

"_Nick Stokes, the glass is always half full huh?" Warrick got quite and sipped his beer. "I really wanted to make this work you know but…I can't be what she needs and I do love her. I love her a lot but I want her to be happy and well if this is what she wants." Warrick held his bottle up in a mocking toast._

"_To happiness." _

"I hope you finally get some happiness Rick." Nick sat back in his chair and cried for his friend. _I won't let this go…I'll find who did this and I god has mercy on them, because I won't. _

Notes-I'm trying to follow what I first wrote based on the spoilers I first heard through the grapevine...trust me they get him, I just need to work out how.

Reviews?


	3. Investigation

Investigation

Investigation

"So how do we wanna do this?" asked Ronnie, Tatum being a level two CSI was lead and Ronnie was assisting. Tatum sighed and pulled her hair back, it was hard to believe that Brown was gone; she had just seen him walking out PD with the biggest smile on his face with Grissom. _I pity the bastard who did this…cop killers don't fair well in jail, guards don't seem to hear them crying for help when they become a prison bitch._

"You got his effects and Grissom's clothes from the hospital?" asked Tatum. Ronnie nodded. "Ok, get his clothes from the M.E. downstairs and start processing those along with Dr. Grissom's clothes. I'm gonna work the car and I'll question Dr. Grissom. We'll take a mini break for the bathroom and than start comparing notes when we're done. Sound good?"

"Yeah. I page you when I have something." Ronnie left and Tatum got a pair of coveralls and a tape recorder and headed into the garage where the car was towed. She sighed

"Ok…let's do this." She turned on her tape recorder and started looking over the car. "This is CSI Fritz, today is May 21st 2008 about eleven am. Victim is Warrick Brown, a CSI with the LVDP. Starting the investigation with Brown's car that was found running in the alley ofMerkee cross street Walden. According to responding officers. Brown's car was found running, passenger window down and passenger door open. Officer reports say passenger door was opened by Dr. Gilbert Grissom, night shift supervisor who was near Merkee and heard the shots." Tatum walked over to the car and turned the car on.

"Brown's driver side window was shot out, not the passenger window. When we first brought the car in, a gun was collected from the passenger side, a .25. That gun is being tested for DNA and prints. Brown's service pistol is a 9 mm and was not found with him, it is still in LVPD evidence with the Lou Gedda homicide. Test at the crime scene show the shooter leaned in and fired at Brown, GSR was found around the window and on the roof on the passenger side."

She studied the radio and dusted for prints and collected. "Radio is turned down low, very low, almost can't hear it." She thought for a second and rolled up the passenger window and noticed smudges on the glass.

"Ok, window rolled down, smudges on glass…Brown rolled the window. Why? These smudges look like knuckle prints…um…someone knocked on Brown's window; he turned the radio down and opened the window. To talk to someone." She went over and collected the smudge prints from the glass and started talking to the tape recorder again. "Brown knew his shooter, this was an inside job." She clicked off the recorder and suddenly felt very freaked out by this. Brown had thought the department had a mole and he had been framed by someone in the department for Lou Gedda's murder.

"Excuse me," said a voice. Tatum turned around and saw Gil Grissom standing in the garage.

"Dr. Grissom…um…you really shouldn't be in here. I'm still processing." _It's not Grissom…he and Brown were close but the rule is first on the scene, first suspect. Still why do I feel like shit?_

"I know, Ronnie told me that you wanted question me about Warrick."

"It's a stupid formality sir, since you found Warrick I need to speak to you." Grissom eyed her.

"It's your job and I want all the rules followed with this one. I don't want a jury or D.A to have any doubts when we take this court."

"No sir. Do you want to meet me upstairs? I still need to collect fibers, but I think I'm almost finished with the car."

"I'll be in my office, I need to make a phone call," said Grissom.

"Give me another 30 minutes," said Tatum. He nodded and left the garage, Tatum sighed and paged a tech to get the prints she collected upstairs and she finished collecting fibers with some hope that the shooter left something behind other than the gun and Brown. She turned her recorder back on and talked to it.

"Prints were sent to Mandy Webster for comparison and fibers collected from the driver's side will be sent to David Hodges in Trace. However I believe the fibers were from Brown and will not link back to the shooter. Hopefully the print from the glass will have some DNA or trace on it. Off the recorder-Brown believe this department had a mole and he was framed by an Officer Daniel Pritchard for the murder of Lou Gedda. If this done by someone in the department, he or she will be smart and have access to all evidence and can set the scene to look how they wanted it to. This case will have to be handled with extreme caution and I should tell Ronnie to watch her back too."

She turned off the recorder and sighed. She paged someone to take the car to impound and she gave them strict instructions that no one other than herself and CSI Lake were to touch this car after reaching the lot.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Dr. Grissom," Tatum knocked on his door before entering his office. He looked up at her and was on the phone.

"Yes…yes. Do you want me to come and get you from the airport dear? Ok, I'll be here at the lab. I'll see you when you get here." He hung up the phone and motion for her to come in and sit down. Tatum shut the door behind her, took a seat across from him and pulled out the tape recorder.

"You don't mind do you…it helps me when I wanna go back over things or if other people want to?"

"No, we all have our methods; Sofia Curtis would talk to herself out loud when working a scene."

"I heard the stories." She clicked on the tape recorder. "This is CSI Fritz, today is May 21st 2008 about 1 p.m. Conducting interview with Dr. Gilbert Grissom, Night Shift Supervisor. Um, Dr. Grissom can you tell what you and Brown were doing shortly before his death, a sort of timeline leading up to when you found him." He nodded and sighed.

"We had just gotten Warrick released from custody in the Lou Gedda murder and we, the team, went out to breakfast at Frank's…we talked…Warrick paid for breakfast. Me and Greg Sanders, his fiancée and their daughter were the first to leave. I saw them get in their car and go. I drove over a block to the newsstand to get a paper; I was reading it when I heard the shots. I told the vender to call for help and made my way to the alley. I saw Brown's car and I just reacted and called for help a second time." He paused and shook his head. "I'm sorry if I ruined any evidence in the car."

"No, the car was fine sir. You saw a friend that needed help and tried to help him."

"You'll have to go by the paper stand and confirm my story," said Grissom.

"I also have to go over the 911 tapes; two calls should have been made almost back to back. I know you didn't do this, stupid formality." _What the hell if you can't trust him who can you trust?_ She turned off the recorder and looked at him.

"Someone inside the department did this…to be honest I'm a little freaked out right now. Brown knew the department had a mole and he proved it with Pritchard. Someone other than Pritchard was in on this." Grissom looked at her and decided he needed to be just has direct and turned her recorder back on.

"Warrick thought Pritchard was following orders from someone higher up in the department. If I was this person, I would be scared that Warrick would never let it go, not until it was solved."

"He was a good CSI; he was one of the few who didn't treat me like an idiot when I first started on Days. He didn't play that petty high school clique bullshit."

"He was right to not treat you like that, you're not an idiot. Sara…she spoke very highly of you as a CSI. Since my team can't work this, I'm glad it's someone who can be trusted to not 'play the game' just a word of warning."

"Yes sir."

"Warrick…his life was ended because he didn't play the game and I'm not ready to have another CSI in the morgue. Be careful who you take this too." Tatum nodded and her pager went off.

"That's Ronnie. I'll give you our notes when we're finished…along with my recordings, just in case." She turned off the recorder and looked at him. "I'm sorry about Brown."

"Thank you."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I tested Grissom's clothes for GSR and I had it tested for blood type. It came back negative for GSR and all the blood was Brown's. I think Hodges was gonna strangle me when I asked for the GSR test," said Ronnie.

"Grissom would have if you didn't, he wants this air tight. Ok, the gun was wiped clean of prints and had no DNA…really not surprising but it screws us over," said Tatum.

"The gun came back to Pritchard; it was from an armed robbery he worked way back in the day. The records saw it was destroyed, but since we're looking at it that's a big lie," said Ronnie. _Someone higher up had to change the records,_ thought Tatum.

"Ok, Brown rolled his window down to talk to someone. Now call me crazy but Pritchard just framed him for murder would you talk to someone who tried to ruin your life in a dark alley?"

"No…so…someone is framing Pritchard now?"

"If Pritchard wanted Warrick dead, why not cap him at Pig Alley when he had the chance…why do it now?" asked Tatum.

"Cause it's not Pritchard. Ok someone had to know that the gun would come back to Pritchard and take it out of evidence. We can't count on the records, they've been fudged and prints are a lost cause," said Ronnie.

"But…they would have to load the weapon right?"

"Nothing on the magazine though."

"You have to touch the bullets to load the gun though," said Tatum.

"Have you seen the bullets, there are tiny. We would hardly get anything off them," said Ronnie.

"Can't hurt to try, worst case scenario we get nothing…" Ronnie finished it for her.

"Best case scenario we blow this case out of the water."

"Good girl. I'll take these to Mandy." Tatum picked up the bullets and went over to DNA and saw the print tech wiping her eyes.

"Sorry…I just…" Mandy straighten up and took a deep breath. "What do you have?"

"The bullets, think you can print them?" Tatum handed her the bag and Mandy studied them.

"Can, but getting something off them, could be a bitch."

"Bitches get shit done," said Tatum and Mandy gave her a small smile.

"Let's be bitches than." Mandy took the bullets out and placed them in a fume tank to get the best print possible. After ten minutes she took them out and studied them. "It's really small but I think we can get it off…ok don't screw this up." Mandy got a lift tape and collected the print.

"I can do a ten-card comparison," said Mandy. Tatum had Pritchard's ten card.

"Try this one." Mandy took it and studied it.

"The bullet prints are loops, Pritchard is lines. They don't match. Pritchard didn't load this gun.' Before Tatum could say a word, Undersherriff McKeen, the supervisor of swing, Ryan Tudor and Ecklie came into Prints.

"Tatum can we speak to you?" asked Ryan.

"Sure…um can you take the print to Ronnie so she can document it?" asked Tatum.

"Of course," said Mandy and she left her lab. Tatum followed the three men to Ecklie's office and sat down.

"How's the investigation going?" asked Ryan. Tatum quickly filled the three men in on what she found and how she believed that Pritchard was a patsy for someone else.

"How was your relationship with Brown?" asked Ecklie.

"Professional…we got along, worked cases together just fine. Had lunch a few times during shift, nothing out of line," said Tatum wondering where this was going.

"You also had dinner last week with Nick Stokes, was that on shift?" asked McKeen. _Ok what the hell is this?_

"No…it was off shift, but it was just as friends and what does it matter what I do off shift? I'm not doing drugs or abusing my job title so what's the issue?" Ryan sighed and looked at her.

"You were also friends with Sara Sidle when she worked swing?"

"We got along, had lunch together a few times when we worked cases. But we weren't BFF's. And once again what does this have to do with anything. I'm working a case right now and this is wasting my time and giving whoever killed Brown a head start out of the country," snapped Tatum.

"I'm afraid I have to pull you and Lake off the case," said McKeen and Tatum just blinked.

"I'm sorry I had a brain spasm and I thought I heard you say I was being pulled!"

"You're too close to the case," said Ryan.

"We split a thing of fries and you think I'm too close to Brown…what the hell!"

"You are also splitting fries with Stokes and Sidle who were very close to Brown and we feel that they'll influence how you'll work the case. Lake was trained under Sidle and that could influence how she works the case. I want someone working this that had no emotionally ties to Brown," said McKeen.

"So are we outsourcing this case to India? Brown was in this department for over ten years; he trained or worked with almost everyone in the department. I'm not going to let anyone influence how I work this and it's bullshit to take it away after me and Ronnie have done all the ground work. Now we have to waste time bring someone up to speed!"

"Dayshifts has two new outside hires who didn't work with Brown. I want all your case notes and findings handed over to them ASAP no questions asked," ordered McKeen. Tatum started to protest and Ecklie and Ryan cut her off.

"If this case means so much to you don't waste the time fighting with us. The decision stands and you and Lake need to bring the new CSI up to date. They'll meet you in layout room four in an hour. Get everything together for them," said Ecklie. Tatum looked at the three men and fought the urge to scream. She got up and slammed the door behind her. Ryan sighed.

"She and Lake are good CSI's. I still think removing them in mid case is a bad move."

"I have to go with Ryan on this one sir, why pull them when they are doing a good job? This is a high pressure case and they seem to be just fine," said Ecklie. McKeen glared at both men.

"For now yes, but what happens if they slip up and over 'lunch' they start talking to nightshift and give away case details and nightshift tells them to take a case a certain way. Stokes and Sidle outrank them both and they could be pressured to do what they say," said McKeen.

"You haven't meet Tatum Fritz; girl is rock and doesn't jump on command for anyone. I doubt anyone would pressure her to anything she didn't want to do," said Ryan.

"I'm not taking chances, she and Lake are off the case has of now!" ordered McKeen and he left the office. _Those bitches should thank me…I'm saving them from turning into Brown. Hopefully they won't be like Brown and they'll back off,_ thought McKeen walking past AV and seeing Tatum hand a tape over to Archie. _I really don't want to kill them too…but I will. I've worked too long and too hard to be brought down by some newbie bitches and someone who didn't know to leave well enough alone._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Can you make two copies of this tape, one to go Grissom and the other to dayshift? They're my case notes about Warrick," said Tatum. Archie took the tape and looked confused.

"Why dayshift?"

"Me and Ronnie are being pulled from the case…we're too close to nightshift and could be 'pressured' by them to see the evidence a certain way!" Tatum spat in disgust and Archie looked just as pissed off as her.

"So who's doing the case than?"

"New dayshift hires and I have an hour to get everything together to present to them. So please copy those ASAP."

"Sure thing," Archie put the tape in another recorder and started to make the copies. Tatum went to Ronnie and explained the situation and she was just as pissed as Tatum about being pulled and they started to rush getting everything together for dayshift because McKeen stood over them the whole time and he rushed them through presentation and dismissed them half way through saying that it was unnecessary and that the two new CSI could figure it out themselves based on the reports and their notes. Both of them left the lab in disgust and went out to dinner where Ronnie got trashed and Tatum had to call Ronnie's roommates to come get her. Tatum spent almost two hours with a punching bag at the gym near her apartment.

Tatum and Ronnie forgot about the print they wanted to run in their haste and the two dayshift thought it has been ran, that it just had no matches. It went into the evidence box forgotten.


	4. Funeral for a friend

Funeral for a friend

Funeral for a friend

Nick straightened his tie and remembered the last time he wore this suit was when he was testifying in Greg's inquest. _Thought we were gonna lose Greggo and Warrick and I helped him out…now we can't do the same._ They were going to bury Warrick today and nothing had happened in his case. Pritchard was no where to be found, he was probably sitting somewhere in Mexico drinking beer and smoking cigars and the dayshift CSI had no clue what to do and the case was getting cold fast. _It was bullshit taking Tatum and Ronnie off mid-case they were doing a good job according to Grissom._

Nick sighed and put his suit jacket on and went in the garage and got in his truck. _Not supposed to be burying a friend._ He sat in the truck for a minute to stop himself from crying and headed out.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Warrick was going to be buried next to his grandmother and his mother in a cemetery a little outside of Las Vegas. The day wasn't to hot for Vegas, in fact it was almost a beautiful day and it seemed to be a cruel joke to Nick. Since Warrick didn't have any family Grissom and Sara had done all the funeral planning and they were holding the service outside next to Warrick's grave. Nick spotted Catherine and Lindsey talking with Dr. Robbins and his wife.

"Hey," said Nick coming up and giving Catherine a hug. She hugged him back and wiped her eyes.

"Hey," she looked around and gave a very small smile. "A lot of people knew Warrick, I'm glad they came out to say goodbye." Nick looked around and had to agree with her. It looked like all the LVPD was here, lawyers, judges, all the night shift lab techs, CSI's from other shifts and people Warrick had either mentored or victim families. He looked and saw Greg going up to Warrick's coffin.

"I'm gonna go talk to Greg," said Nick, Catherine nodded and Nick walked up to the open casket. He saw Greg standing still with a small white box in his hand and he looked torn between crying or laughing. He watched Greg put a small white box on Warrick's chest and stood their trying to regain his thoughts. He stood next to Greg and looked down at Warrick. If Nick hadn't known any better he would have thought Warrick was sleeping off a double shift and just needed to be given a case. _It's not fair, it's not fair…this shouldn't be your day._

"Hey," Greg looked up and seemed to snap out his daze.

"Hey,"

"So what's in the box?" asked Nick. Greg gave a sad smile.

"A reminder of how Warrick and Jenna first met."

Nick almost started laughing. Warrick had met Jenna before she and Greg got together for a second time when she was sneaking into Greg's hospital room after she had heard about the lab explosion on the news and had a box of cupcakes she had planned to leave for Greg. Warrick caught her in the room with a passed out Greg and she freaked out and gave Warrick the cupcakes and told him not to tell Greg she had been there. Warrick had been starving and ate the whole box of cupcakes in one sitting and he was always slipping Jenna money for his cupcake fix and he even told Greg if he screwed it up with Jenna he was gonna hook up with her just for her cooking.

"Cupcake?" asked Nick even though he knew the answer.

"Yeah." Nick shook his head and reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a quarter and held it in his hand.

_"Ah, my two favorite guys. Ok, I have an assault at Stripperama and a trash run at Flamingo and Kovalt. I'm too busy to play favorites so duke it out," said Catherine and she went back into her office. He looked at Warrick and held up his fists._

"_Duke it out?" Warrick rolled his eyes and gave him a look that said 'yeah right!' Boy, we better flip a coin. I'll hurt ya," joked Nick.  
"Yeah, you better flip that coin," said Warrick. He flipped it and they called it in the air. Warrick won._

"_Have fun with your trash run," mocked Warrick._

"_I would flip again but I know you have betting issues," said Nick and he went to go on his trash run and he turned around and tossed the coin at Warrick. "You keep this, it's bad luck."_

"Since we're leaving mementos." He took the quarter and put in Warrick's jacket pocket.

"Fare for the ferry man?" asked Greg.

"For good luck." _Someone can use it._ They walked away from the coffin and Nick spotted Jenna talking with Valerie Nichols and Katie was tugging on Jenna's rosary and chatting at her.

"You brought Katie?" asked Nick his tone came out harsh and he didn't mean it but at the same time he couldn't believe they brought a baby to a funeral. Greg looked nervous.

"We couldn't get a sitter for her. Jenna offered to stay home, but I wouldn't let her."

"Oh," said Nick and he walked off to find his seat. _God stop being an asshole…they couldn't control not being able to find a sitter, it's not like they planned for this._ He looked back and saw Greg put his hand on Jenna's shoulder and Katie look up at her mother and tug on her necklace.

"Ma mama?" Jenna dug into her purse, pulled out a pacifier and popped it in Katie's mouth and she quieted down. Nick took his seat near the front and he noticed that Greg and Jenna had opted to sit in the back with the lab rats. _Great I made them feel like shit now._ Nick went to turn his attention to the podium when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Tatum sitting behind him; she was wearing a knee length gray skirt, a white shirt with a gray jacket. She had pulled her hair back into a braid and he noticed her arm was back in the sling.

"I almost got lost coming out here than I started following the train of cop cars and all the uniforms. I figured I was either gonna end up here or at a Dunkin' Donuts. I think a few did stop at the double D before coming here." Nick wanted to start laughing; it was the funniest he had heard in a week. He gave her a small smile instead and looked at her arm.

"You…you mess up your shoulder again?" She gave the sling a dirty look.

"It was getting better until I had a two hour throw down with a punching bag and I threw it out." She leaned in and whispered. "I figure the punching bag was better than screaming at McKeen and getting fired. Well speak of the devil and he shall appear." Nick looked over to where Tatum was looking and he noticed that McKeen was talking to Brass.

"Yeah no shit. Has dayshift come and ask you for help yet? They were complaining about something with Ronnie's notes," said Nick recalling what he had heard from Wendy. Dayshift had come to her bitching about Ronnie's case notes about the DNA from the scene and Wendy had to explain to them.

"No, because asking for my help was banned. I'm not to touch the case with a ten foot pole." Nick went to say something else when he noticed Grissom go up to the podium. "We'll talk later," said Tatum. Nick nodded and looked towards Grissom.

"Today we are here to honor the memory of a friend, a colleague, a mentor: Warrick Brown. I could stand here and bore you all with details of Warrick Brown's life. But really the only thing you need to know was he was a good person and he tried to do what was right, he may have made mistakes along the way, but to err is human and in the end he was human like all of us."

"He was by far one of the best CSI that I've had the privilege of working with and I wouldn't trade the years I've spent working by his side for anything. I look out at the people here to today and at some point in time you have all also had the privilege of working with Warrick Brown and if you knew him the way I did, you understood his devotion, his passion for seeing that justice was done for those who could not get it for themselves."

"For Warrick, justice was more than an idea talked about in the courtroom or in the lab. It was something real. Something that no matter how unreachable it seemed, Warrick was able to reach it for those who needed it most." Grissom paused and pinched the bridge of nose. Grissom took a breath and tried to regain his composure and Nick felt himself starting to tear up and he looked over and saw Catherine was crying her eyes out and Lindsey was doing the same. _He's gone and I couldn't help him…_

"And for Warrick, I will seek justice. Not just for him, but to those he was not able to help because his time was cut short. However, I would like to remind people to not let the feelings of sorrow over take them and while we should keep Warrick in our hearts we should continue to live our lives. I would like to close with a reading from Kahlil Gibran and to ask that you keep Warrick Brown and what he stood for close to your heart."

_You would know the secret of death.  
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?  
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.  
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.  
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one._

_In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;  
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.  
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.  
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.  
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?  
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?_

_For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?  
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?_

_Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.  
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.  
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance._

Grissom stepped down from the podium and Taps started playing. People got up to file past the coffin and pay the final respects to Warrick. He felt that hand on his shoulder again and he turned around and Tatum touched his arm.

"I'm really sorry about Warrick…he really was a great guy." Nick found he couldn't speak and he just nodded at her and followed the line of people to pay respects. He looked at Warrick one last time and he felt that same surge of angry that he felt in the hospital. _Why, why wouldn't you let us help you…I thought we were friends and you shut me out. What the hell is wrong with you, he's dead why are you so pissed off with him?_ He walked away from the coffin and went to head to his truck when he heard a little cheerful voice call out.

"Bye bye!" Nick turned around and saw that Greg, Jenna and Katie were standing next to the coffin and Greg and Jenna both looked horrified. _She told Warrick bye-bye before they left the dinner. Maybe she picked up Greggo's sixth sense, maybe in some crazy way…she knew._

"Shush," Jenna said and she put the pacifier back in her mouth. Nick shook his head and turned around got to his truck and found that Tatum had parked her car next to his.

"So you're going to the wake?" asked Nick getting out his keys.

"I'm thinking about following the PD for donuts first before they eat all the good ones with the chocolate filling. You wanna tag along?" Nick shook his head.

"How the hell can you crack jokes at funeral? I mean…" She shook her head and gave him a one armed hug and he hugged her back careful so he wouldn't hurt her arm.

"Because someone has too. I'll see you at the wake" She broke away from him and he found himself wishing she hadn't and got in her car and drove off. Nick got in his truck and sat there for a minute and drove off. _No…no…now is not the time to even consider anything outside of work…still…god what the hell is wrong with you._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

He wanted to be alone, but he still went to Warrick's wake. Warrick would have done the same thing for him. It didn't mean he had to be social. He listened to the other CSI's, techs and cops talk about Warrick and that they were going to miss him. Nick wondered if any of them really knew Warrick. _He was my best friend and I wonder if I really knew him, if had been honest about investigating Gedda I would have helped him. Stopped him from going so far in he couldn't back out. _Tatum looked over at him and started to head over to him and he shook his head no and she just looked annoyed and headed over to Grissom, Sara and Catherine.

Nick found himself out on Grissom's balcony with a drink and he really couldn't remember how many he had since coming here. He knew he hadn't eaten since last night and that he hadn't slept well either. He finished the drink and felt something cold and wet touch his hand. He looked down and saw a boxer nosing at him.

"Hey Hank," he reached down and started petting the dog. He had grown up with dogs and found them to be the best listeners in the world. Since moving to Vegas and working on the nightshift he hadn't had the time for a pet. _Haven't had time for a lot stuff since coming out here._

"Stokes," said a voice and he looked up and saw the McKeen had come out on the balcony and Nick felt his temper rise and his grip tighten on the glass. _Fuck it I'm not on shift right now._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tatum watched Nick go out on the balcony after blowing her off and she sighed. _What gives with him…freaking hot/cold hot/cold cold/hot…almost makes me wanna take up drinking again._ She understood that he was hurting about losing Warrick; it had broken her heart when her son and grandfather died. Her answer was to push people away and take up drinking to push them away even harder. At least she was predictable and did the same thing over and over again. With Stokes it felt like she was getting close and then he push her away. _Why is it pissing you off so much? You're not his girlfriend…but still has a friend it's really annoying to get the mixed signals and not know if you should stop or go._

She liked Nick, he didn't come across like an asshole the way the other guys she had crossed paths with over the years did. _Screw it I'm not in the mood to play games with anyone. I have a job that controls my life right now. _She decided to tell Grissom what she had planned on tell Nick, a way for them to get on Warrick's case. She saw Grissom talking with Catherine and Sara and figured they were also safe bets to talk too. She looked around and saw that McKeen was talking to some lab techs and headed over to Grissom.

"Hey…can I talk to you guys?" asked Tatum.

"Of course," said Grissom. Tatum looked over her shoulder and saw that McKeen was still distracted and she lowered her voice.

"I spoke to a friend of mine back in Utah who does cold cases now…a case is considered cold after six months, when a case is cold _anyone_ can touch it. It's considered 'busy work'." Catherine and Sara looked at her shocked and Grissom was unreadable.

"So we have to wait six months?" asked Catherine quietly.

"We can't wait that long," said Sara. "You're sure you can't get back on it?"

"I could start offering sexual favors to the higher ups, black mail them to get back on the case. You wanna take me shopping for skimpy undergarments?" asked Tatum. Grissom shook his head.

"That won't be necessary. We'll just have to wait the six months," he said sadly.

"Gil," said Catherine.

"I know you want to find who did this to Warrick, but if we do this wrong Catherine we're all at risk. This stays between us, I hate to keep Nick and Greg out of the loop." Grissom looked over to Greg on the sofa with his daughter and Jenna "But it won't be just us we're putting at risk if this goes wrong." He watched Jenna take the sleeping toddler off of Greg's lap and Sara went over to them and directed Jenna to the bedroom so she could put the toddler down. Sara sat down to talk to them and Grissom turned back to Tatum.

"I owe you for looking into this for us." Tatum shrugged.

"I'm sure if it was me in a coffin you would try for me too."

"Damn straight," said Catherine. McKeen walked passed them and went out to the balcony to Nick. Tatum saw him speak to Nick and heard the alarm bells start going off in her head. _Oh this will not be good for anyone._ She was proven right when Nick threw down his glass and got in Jeff McKeen's face.

"IT'S BULLSHIT!" snapped Nick.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Stokes, I'm very sorry about Brown. I know how close you two were. Brown was a very good officer; it's a shame we had to lose him like this. I want you know that we're going to catch whoever did this."

"Because the CSI you have working on this case are gonna crack it wide open any day now," muttered Nick.

"I stand by my decision to have dayshift work the case. You just lost a friend and that makes it difficult to see what it right."

"IT'S BULLSHIT!" snapped Nick. Nick heard Hank the dog whimper and run past him. McKeen straightened himself up and looked Nick in the eyes

"Stokes…I understand that you are hurt over the lost of Warrick, everyone here is. But I can't let you on the case. Your display here is more than enough reason to not let you on the case," said McKeen. _Oh that is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard in my entire time working as a CSI!_

"Than put Tatum and Ronnie back on it. At least they knew what the hell they were doing!" he screamed. _At least she was getting shit done, these new SOB's you have can't do shit._ He felt Grissom touch his arm and speak to him like someone would to a child.

"Nick…let it go," said Grissom. _Why does everyone want to let it go…Warrick wouldn't if it was one of us!_

"Hell no! The case is getting colder by the day and I'll be damned if Warrick becomes a cold case shut away in the files in the basement."

"It's not going to, isn't that right Jeff," said Grissom looking at McKeen.

"Of course not…Warrick was an officer and his case is priority right now," said McKeen. Nick let out a bitter laugh.

"Until some friend or donor to the mayor or sheriff gets killed or kidnapped and then Warrick's case gets put down for that, then something else comes along that the media jumps on that and sooner or later everyone forgets about him. I know how we work!" McKeen glared at him.

"You're lucky that we're not on the clock. Take some time off and think about how your friend would feel to see you acting like a drunken fool," McKeen turned and left Grissom's apartment and Nick went to follow him when someone grabbed the sleeve of his suit jacket. He whirled around to see Tatum staring at him with a mix of pity, sadness and angry.

"Come on…you've had one to many. I'm driving you home," said Tatum. _Don't treat me like I'm a child. That is the last fucking thing I need right now!_

"I'm fine!" snapped Nick. Tatum stood her ground.

"Don't make me run a sobriety test on you. I either take you home or you find another way that doesn't involve you driving," said Tatum coldly. Nick glared at her and left the apartment and started walking.

"Nick! Nick! NICK STOKES WILL YOU WAIT A MINUTE?!" snapped Tatum. He felt himself get dizzy and he sat down on the corner. She stood over him glaring.

"You done acting like a dick now?"

"I need a ride," muttered Nick. His head was starting to pound and he knew he was in no shape to drive.

"Yeah, I was pretty sure of that three minutes ago. Can you walk?" He stood up and almost fell and Tatum caught him and almost fell down herself. "God damn you're heavy." She got him over to the car and he leaned against it. _God why did I do that, it was so fucking stupid._ She unlocked the car and opened the door.

"Get in and don't throw up on the carpet. I swear if you do I will be sending you the bill," snapped Tatum. Nick got in and fell against the seat. Tatum got in the driver's seat and started to drive. "So where do you live again, or should I just toss you into the nearest gutter."

"Stop bitching at me," muttered Nick. He felt overwhelming exhausted and just wanted to sleep. And he dozed off without realizing it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_At least I had enough sense to get wasted at home where no one would see me…I didn't make public scenes._ She looked over at Nick who was passed out in the seat next to her and groaned.

"You know most times when I'm the sober party people tell me where to drop them off," said Tatum. She pulled over and sighed. "You left me no choice and you can't say I raped you." She reached over and into Nick's pants pocket, pulled out his wallet and found his driver's license. "However you can say I robbed you." She took a twenty out of his wallet for gas and for the headache he was causing her right now. She found the house and parked. Nick was still passed out and Tatum tried to shake him awake and failed.

"You know I almost feel guilty groping on you like this, but you left me no choice," muttered Tatum and she started trying to find his house keys.

"Of course in your jacket pocket. Last place I would look." She pulled the keys out and unlocked the front door and went back to the car to get Nick. She opened the door and Nick fell out and he groaned.

"Come on get up…front door is right there." Nick wasn't getting up and Tatum just wanted to kick him for good measure. She took her sling off and hauled Nick up and fumbled to get the front door open. She got the door open and managed to get him to the living room and laid him down.

"You are a heavy asshole." Nick was snoring and Tatum felt a bit of pity for him, he looked like a little kid who tried to do too many things and just passed out. She sat down next to him and patted his head. "You are so gonna feel like shit in the morning. I hope your days as a frat boy prepared you for the headache you are gonna have in the morning." _He kind of looks cute when he's sleeping, whoa where did that come from?_

"If I was that type of girl and you were awake, you would so be getting laid. But you're drunken and just no. I don't hand myself out like candy on Halloween." She sighed and stood up.

"Come on; let's see if you can sleep this off in the kitchen. That way if you do throw up you won't have to clean the carpet." She grabbed his arms and went to drag and Nick started to groan and he wouldn't budge. "Oh come on!" She went drag him again and felt her left shoulder start to ache. _Damn bullet wound_, she sat down on the floor and rubbed her shoulder. She heard someone knocking at the door and than they started to ring the doorbell.

"GIVE ME A MINUTE!" she snapped. She got up, went to the door and opened it. She was a bit surprised to see Greg standing there and than she remember he and his family lived across the street.

"Do you have any idea how heavy a drunken thirty seven year old man is when you have one good arm? He's fucking heavy," said Tatum. She let Greg in the house and Nick was still in the living room on his stomach and hadn't moved an inch. Greg looked at Nick and than back at Tatum. Tatum felt the need to explain herself to a very worried looking Greg.

"I figure if he pukes at least he won't choke on it. He'll have to clean the carpet though. I was gonna leave him the kitchen so in case he did upchuck it would be easier to clean…but fuck it he weighs a ton," said Tatum. Greg sighed and went over to Nick.

"If you get his legs, I can help you drag him upstairs to the bedroom." Tatum shook her head but Greg had a point and she went over to Nick and managed to get his legs and Greg took the upper half and somehow they managed to get him to the bedroom floor.

"You're right…fuck him let him get into bed by himself," said Greg out of breath. Tatum shook her head. _Karma is a bitch and he's gonna get a huge dose of it tomorrow._

"He's getting treated to my father's hangover cure when he wakes up tomorrow morning. I'm going to love every second of it! Well good night Sanders," said Tatum.

"You're staying the night?" asked Greg shocked. _Well I can't have him pulling a Jimmy Hendrix and choking on his vomit!_

"Well I can't leave his ass like this. Don't worry I won't take advantage of him and I'll sleep in the living room. However…" Tatum walked over to Nick's drawers and pulled out a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt. "I'm not sleeping in my nice clothes or in the nude. He can suffer me borrowing his clothes for tonight and he can suffer the fact I took gas money out of his wallet." Greg shook his head and eyed Nick.

"You sure?"

"Trust me. He's in good hands," said Tatum with an evil grin.

"When you say it like that it makes me worry," said Greg looking very concerned at the passed out body on the floor.

"Go home," said Tatum. Greg took the hint and headed back home. Tatum looked at Nick on the floor and tapped him with her foot.

"You wanna sleep in that? You're gonna have to undress yourself, I'm not going there, it will only cause trouble." Nick groaned and Tatum took pity on him and took off his shoes and got a blanket off the bed and covered him up.

"I'm gonna use your bathroom, snoop in your medicine cabinet, raid your fridge and sleep on your sofa. If you have any objections you should say so now Betty." Nick started snoring and Tatum turn of the light in the bedroom and went in search of the bathroom. She found it, changed into the shorts and tee shirts and grabbed an extra blanket she found after much searching. She headed into the kitchen so see if she could make the breakfast that her dad treated her too when she came home one summer wasted.

"Yep, steak-check, eggs-check, potatoes-check, all the fixings are here for breakfast. Why am I not surprised that Stokes is a meat and potato guy?" She headed into the living room and set the alarm on her cell phone. She went to settle in when her phone went off. It was after midnight and there was only one person who could be calling her this late.

"Hi dad," answered Tatum.

"Hi solider, sorry about calling so late I just wanted to call before I fly out again." The last Tatum knew her father, Wallace was in Iraq, but that could always change at the drop of a hat, like right now.

"Can you tell me or will you have to kill me if you do?"

"I would have to kill you. You know the rules," said Wallace.

"Yes sir."

"So what have you been up too?" Tatum decided to leave out the fact she had been shot earlier this month, no sense in freaking him out when he couldn't have done anything anyway.

"Well," she filled him in quickly about what happened with Warrick and how she had been pulled from the case and what happened at the funeral and how she hauled Nick home. "So now I'm sitting here in his living room with his A&M shirt and shorts and I can't wait for him to wake in the morning so I can treat him the way you treated me when I was sixteen." Her father laughed.

"I see you got my cruel sense of humor after all. So can I play the nosy father and ask what is really going on between you and Mick?"

"Nick," corrected Tatum. "And it's nothing…I just wanna make sure he doesn't die Jimmy Hendrix style. If he's gonna die tonight it will be because I killed him with my bare hands."

"Yeah," her father sounded skeptical. "You have that little tone in your voice."

"What little tone?"

"That little annoyed tone you have when I catch you lying. Haven't heard that from you in years, think the last time I heard it was when you were seeing that boy in high school and were trying to deny it. Are you seeing Nick?"

"If I want I can go upstairs and see him passed out on his bedroom floor. Other than that, it would be weird, we work together, and he's my superior and I just don't wanna go back into the relationship world with someone who…he's a friend."

"Ok, I won't poke at you anymore tonight." She heard someone yelling in the background and her father telling them in a minute. "I got to go; this should take about a month. I'll try to see if I can get leave sometime this summer and I'll come out there and see you for a change."

"Ok, bye dad."

"Bye solider." He hung up and Tatum hung up her end. _God me and Nick Stokes that would be the day._ _Yeah I like him, but no…it's totally not gonna happen in this life._ She settled into the sofa and dozed off.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_Well Ana you're late  
And Maya, I'm here.  
The boys in the band,  
Decide to appear.  
We walk through the door  
Savor the air._

_Oh god it hurts,_ thought Nick. He felt stiff, sore and he wished someone would stop the pounding in his head. He forced himself off his floor. _How the hell did I get here?_ Music was blaring downstairs in his kitchen and he wished it would stop. He staggered down the stairs holding his head and the music got louder the closer he got to the kitchen. _I remember getting in a car…someone was bitching at me. Oh god who the hell is cooking?_

On top of the noise it smelled like someone was frying something and it made his stomach roll. He looked into the kitchen and someone was dancing in his kitchen and singing with the music. _Are those my shorts? Why the hell are they wearing my clothes?_

_You can call me x,  
You can call me y,  
You can call me z,  
You can come and try.  
Come and try._

Don't know what you think you're doing to me,  
(Hey! Stripper, Hey! Stripper)  
don't know what you see it's getting to me,  
(Hey! Stripper, Hey! I wanna be your mister).

The someone turned around and he was shocked to see Tatum in his kitchen. She grinned at him tossed some fried eggs on a plate.

"GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE! THE EARTH SAYS HELLO!" she screamed at him. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard in surround sound at the movie theater.

"Oh Jesus Tate please," he sat down on a stool and put his head in his hands.

"WHAT AM I BEING TOO LOUD FOR YOU SO EARLY IN THE MORNING? HOW'S YOUR HEAD…I BET IT HURTS A LOT?" Nick groaned. Tatum sat a plate of food in front of him and the smell almost killed him.

"What's this?" muttered Nick.

"IT'S FRIED EGGS, FRIED POTATOES AND FRIED STEAK. I FIGURED YOU COULD USE A GREAT BIG BREAKFAST AFTER LAST NIGHT. I EVEN FRIED EVERYTHING IN BUTTER JUST FOR YOU!" Tatum sat down across from him with her own plate and started eating.

"DAMN THIS IS GOOD. EAT UP NICKY!" Nick's stomach revolted and he barely made it to the bathroom to throw up._ Oh god, I haven't felt this shitty since college, at least she didn't leave me in my boxers on the football field._ The music turned off and Tatum came into the bathroom and leaned in the doorway.

"When I was sixteen and came home so drunk I crawled up the stairs and threw up in front of my daddy's bedroom door. My daddy woke me up the next morning with Conway Twitty blaring, fried eggs and steak and he screamed at me about how wonderful the world was and that I was gonna clean the house top to bottom. Starting with mess in front his door. Be lucky you didn't puke anywhere." Tatum handed him a damp washrag. Nick took it and looked up at her.

"You're a bitch." _An evil, mean, sadistic bitch!_ She looked like she didn't care at all, in fact it looked she was trying not to laugh.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. I'm not the one who got trashed at my best friend's funeral. I at least had the self control to wait until my friends and family left my house after my son's wake before getting so sloppy drunk I couldn't even buy brandy. I was that way for almost a good two years. Trust me, more problems with the bottle than without it. You done tossing your cookies?"

"Think so." There wasn't much to toss, he hadn't eaten anything yesterday.

"Good…you have a birthday party to go to later on this afternoon. I don't think they'll be booze there so you should be good," said Tatum.

"Huh?" asked Nick standing up and grabbing the wall for support.

"I swear your friend Sanders and his baby mama had this kid like a year ago today. Even I know that...I need to go home and shower. So I'll pick you up around three and we can get your truck and than you can have cake and listening to a screaming toddler that will do wonders for that headache you're nursing."

"I don't wanna go." _I just wanna be alone right now and not deal with anyone living or dead._

"Yeah, you wanna stay here and mope and in generally be a douche bag, unlike how you acted last night. However, this is me bringing out my inner Dr. Cox and Dr. House and I'm telling you that you're going and you're gonna put on a happy face and celebrate the fact that a another human being has somehow survived to turn a year old. If Warrick was here he would probably drag you across the street and force feed you the cake. However that is now my job and you need to thank Sanders for helping me drag you up the stairs. I'll see you at three."

Tatum patted him on the check and left. Nick stood there stunned for a second and thought came back to him. _She took my shorts…oh god she stayed the night. Did we…oh god tell me I did not sleep with Tatum Fritz. Oh sweet god!_ He crawled into the shower and made it has hot has he could. _If Warrick was here…oh he would kick my ass!_ He finished his shower and got dressed. He went back downstairs and saw that Tatum had left breakfast on the counter along with the dishes in the sink. _A perfect houseguest. _Nick sat down and finished both their plates before he realized it. _Damn I was starving, not half bad._ He looked in the cd player and saw she left her cd here. He took it out and looked at it,_ Soho Dolls_.

"Really not a fair trade off for my clothes," muttered Nick starting to put the dishes in the wash. _God what happened last night?_ He went into the living room and saw a blanket had been left on the sofa. _She must have slept out here. She didn't have to stay here; I could have taken care of myself._ He laid down of the sofa and closed his eyes willing the pounding in his head to stop. _Warrick would have stayed the night if he had been here. And once again I owe Tatum Fritz._

Nick fell asleep and was woken up by someone knocking on his door. He got up and saw Tatum leaning in the door.

"What are you doing here?" muttered Nick.

"You wanna get your truck back or not? It's still sitting at Grissom's." Nick let her inside.

"Look I need to know, did anything happen between us last night? Did we…you know. Did I sleep with you?" Tatum just grinned and than she broke out laughing, she sat down on the floor and laughed until she cried. "It's not funny," said Nick.

"Yes it is. Oh my god…you couldn't even _walk_ last night." Tatum wiped her eyes and tried to hold back the laughter. "You were trashed. You honestly think I would take advantage of you like that. I'm sure that maybe the lab girls would, but not me." She started laughing again and Nick frown at her.

"Please stop laughing at me." Tatum took a breath and looked up at him.

"All we need to do is get your truck; I bought a gift for the young Miss Sanders. I heard she clocked a kid in daycare with a see-and-say. Think Greg will get mad that I bought her one?"

"I don't know if I should be there. I can't remember how I acted, but I have a feeling I acted like a dick and I, I just wanna be left alone."

"Well you're going. You owe Sanders too; he helped me carry your heavy ass upstairs." Nick sighed.

"I'm really tried." Tatum looked up and kicked Nick in the shin.

"What the hell was that for?" she kicked him again in the shin and Nick winced.

"Because kicking your ass would involve getting up. This is so much easier. If you're gonna act like a child, so will I." She went to kick him again and he moved out of the way.

"I can stay here all day Stokes," said Tatum. "You don't have car or cash to leave. So are going to come with me to the birthday, not everyday someone turns a year old." Nick groaned and realized that Tatum was right and he owed it to his family here to be there.

"Let me get my shoes."

"And learning has occurred."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Greg opened the door and looked shocked to see Nick standing there.

"Hey," said Greg.

"Hey Sanders. Sorry we're late. Someone is a cranky bear after a nap. Isn't that right Tiny Dancer?" asked Tatum looking up at Nick. _God why the girl names, I don't deserve that._

"Sorry man, I…" Greg cut him off.

"Look forget it, it's been a rough couple of days for everyone. If you wanna go home and chill it's cool." Tatum stepped on Nick's foot before he said anything.

"No. Betty is going to stay here, give the baby his gift, eat cake and smile. Isn't that right. Especially since Sanders was so nice last night to come over and help me drag your heavy ass upstairs."

"Yeah…thanks man." They came into the house and Tatum handed Greg a bag.

"I heard your kid likes See and Say."

"She likes beating people with them," said Greg.

"Maybe she can knock some sense into Betty here." Nick looked at her and she just grinned at him and Greg looked like he wanted to laugh too.

"I'm counting to ten and the cake is being lit with or without you," called Jenna. They went into the dining room and everyone looked surprised to see him. _I was a real ass last night wasn't I?_

"Hi," said Jenna looking at Nick like she had seen a ghost.

"Hi," chirped Katie from her high chair. Everyone looked at her with surprise. _Well that brings her up to seven words._

"Oh do it again. Hi," said Greg's mother getting close to her granddaughter.

"Hi!" cried Katie.

"Oh good girl you have the set," said Jenna. "You learned it backwards but that's ok."

"Are we having cake anytime today?" asked Hodges.

"You really are a mood killer," said Grissom.

"Ok…no one else is coming right?" asked Jenna with the match. Nick learned later on that Jenna had tried to light the cake three times and was interrupted by people showing up at the last minute.

"No," said Greg. Jenna lit the candle again.

"Good because I'm not lighting this again."

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Katie, happy birthday to you," sang the group.

"Ok, blow," said Jenna showing Katie how to blow.

"Hi!" cried Katie.

"No sweetie, blow out the candle," said Greg.

"Hi." Hodges leaned over and blew out the candle. Everyone glared at him.

"What?"

"Greg, get me another candle so our daughter can blow out her own candle and my frying pan. The good one."

"Cast iron?" asked Greg.

"She said the good one," said Jenna's mother glaring at the tech. _I'll help hold him down,_ thought Nick.

"Hodges you are now on field rotation for the next five weeks," said Grissom.

"But…" protested Hodges. Tatum looked up at Nick and grinned.

"Aren't you glad you came now?"

"Yeah." He looked over at the toddler who was chatting at Greg and he saw the former lab tech kiss his daughter on the head and realized that Warrick would have made him come no matter what, _she's family._

They relit the cake and Katie was finally able to blow out her own candle after Hodges was sent outside with the threat of being made to work ten weeks of field rotation when he blew the candle out again. _I hope you have lots of birthday's sweet heart,_ thought Nick watching Katie try to eat the cake with her fingers. _I wish you were here man._

Unknown to Nick, everyone was pretty much thinking the same thing.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So I'll see at work next week," said Nick. Tatum was getting ready to leave and Nick walked with her outside to her car.

"Good," Tatum went to get in her car and Nick stopped her.

"Listen, thank you. Not just for staying the night, but for kicking some sense into me. I needed that."

"It happens. I'll see you later."

"Hey where are my clothes?" asked Nick.

"In my dirty clothes, I slept in them. You'll get them back when I wash them. Where's my cd?" asked Tatum.

"I'll give you the cd when I get my clothes back," said Nick. Tatum went to kick him in the shin again and Nick moved out of the way. "I'm on to you now."

"Damn it," she whined and kicked her tire.

"Have a nice night Tatum."

"You too." She got in her car and Nick shook his head. _God she is crazy, but at least it's the fun crazy. _He watched her drive off and Nick wondered if he hadn't been so wasted what could of happened between them.


	5. Someone to talk to

Someone to talk to

June 2008

"Coffee?" asked Nick sitting a cup down in front of Tatum. She looked up at him half asleep.

"Oh you are the best," she took the coffee from him and started to chug it.

"You know that's hot right?"

"I lost feeling in my tongue and pretty much my whole body hours ago. I've been up over forty eight hours thanks for asking." The thing Nick never understood about swing shift was until he worked that swing was everyone's whipping boy. Swing was supposed to work from 4 till midnight, however if day shift was short they filled in, if night shift was short they filled in. And when both shifts were short swing got screwed from both ends and not in a good way.

"So what are you working on?" asked Nick.

"Not stabbing myself in the face from lack of sleep" said Tatum deadpan. Nick smiled at her.

"Please don't stab yourself in the face. It would create a crime scene that I would have to work. I have enough on my plate." He realized that was the wrong thing to say after she gave him a death glare.

"I have seven open cases right now. Two rapes, a hit and run, three homicides and something about a guy who was at a gaming convention who was hooker rolled and he told me she was dressed like Princess Leia. Over nine thousand people at the convention, four thousand of them female, and god knows how many are dressed like Princess Leia. So I think me giving you a suicide is mild," said Tatum finishing the last of the coffee and Nick sat down across from her

"I have a girl who jumped out of her apartment ten stories up and landed on a bus. I think one suicide a night is my limit." Tatum closed a folder and yawned.

"Why don't you go home and try to get some sleep?"

"I'm waiting for my hooker DNA. I bribed Wendy though to see if my stuff could be moved up the queue. I don't hold out hope, because I just saw Grissom drop something off and I know that gets rushed no matter what I promised her."

"What did you promise her?" asked Nick. _So I'm not the only one who begs the techs._

"Cheesecake from the bakery Sanders's lady owns. I told her I would break at six when the cakes come out and have to her in twenty minutes. I also told Hodges I would help him play test some game of his if trace from rape number one got moved up. But you were just there and dropped something off which means I will be here until hell freezes over or I get put in a hospital bed for exhaustion." Tatum went over to the vending machine and got another coffee and started to chug that. Nick smiled at her.

"I would love to your paycheck when it comes." She managed a half nod and sat back down.

"Good…I can get that HD TV I was looking at before everything changes next year." She put her head down on the table and dozed off.

"Tatum," he said softly. "Tate." _Oh let the poor girl take a nap._ Hodges came in and looked annoyed. Before Nick could say anything Hodges slammed the folder on the table and woke Tatum up.

"Your trace on your victim was duct tape and purple silk. Nice combo, so when can you meet me for the play test?" Tatum groaned and took the folder from him.

"When I'm not dead. I got to go back and talk to the victim. Thanks for the coffee Nicky," She picked up her folders and left the break room. Nick turned and glared at Hodges.

"Couldn't you have left her alone for a minute, she's exhausted man." Hodges shrugged.

"Tell Ecklie and McKeen to get some new CSI in for the other shifts and maybe we can stop abusing swing shift so much. Besides since when have you cared who gets how much sleep…wait," the trace tech turned to him and Nick wished that Grissom would show up and send Hodges back to his lab.

"It's because it was Tatum, if Ronnie or any of the other swingers came in and tried to nap you wouldn't be so annoyed if I woke them up. One would get the impression that you actually 'like' her."

"I'm worried that she's going to end up being hospitalized if she doesn't take a break," said Nick. Hodges rolled his eyes.

"Well…she has seven open cases right now. I have a trace report pending for her Princess Leia hooker roll and Wendy is working her DNA right now. I bet her case notes are in temporary lock up." Hodges left the break room and Nick thought for a second. _Would she really be pissed if I took over just one of her cases…it's just a hooker roll? It's only one case. _

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Did you take my hooker roll?" asked Tatum coming into the locker room near the end of his shift. Nick finished tying his shoe.

"Yeah."

"And my hit and run?"

"Yeah?"

"And the homicide where the guy was found in his ex-wife's prized rose bushes and she bitched at me for over two hours about the damage the SOB did to her babies."

"Yeah." _My case was sort of at a standstill and really your cases were almost finished, I just tied up the loose ends._

"Did I ask you to take my cases?" asked Tatum glaring.

"No, but you looked like you needed some help and I thought…"

"Ok, I'm going to tell you something I heard over and over again on the base when I was growing up. All the new recruits were told 'Don't think…unless told to think.' I was doing fine on my cases and they were all going to get resolved in a timely fashion, even if I had to come in with an IV in my arm and I'm just so mad I wanna kiss you."

"What?" asked Nick. _I didn't hear that right at all._ The glare went away and she sort of grinned at him.

"I said piss…glue. Anyway thank you for taking my cases and helping me close them, I think it's the nicest thing anyone has done for me in months possibly in years, but next time just tell me you're gonna loot my cases. I looked like the biggest dumbass going to people asking for my reports and they were gone."

"Sorry. I only meant to take the hooker roll and I just couldn't stop. I just needed to keep busy you know," Nick shut his locker and looked over at Tatum who was digging in her bag for her keys.

It had been a week since Warrick's funeral and he just wanted to keep himself busy. He had gone to Grissom to see if he could do anything about getting the team on Warrick's case or Tatum and Ronnie back on it and Grissom explained to him that this was one time they couldn't bend the rules, if they did bend them and caught who killed Warrick, it could be thrown out of court and Warrick's killer would be a free man or worse.

"Warrick thought someone who was higher up ordered Gedda killed and it cost him his life. I already lost one friend Nicky and I'm not ready to bury another one. I have an idea on how to get us on the case, but you have to wait and promise me that you won't do anything stupid to draw attention to the team. We want whoever did this to think we're broken, so when the time comes to nail their ass to the wall, they won't know it was coming. I'm telling Greg the same thing; he is not to tell Jenna anything about this, it for her safety and Catherine has been told to not tell Lindsey or her mother what is going on. This stays in the team, understand me," said Grissom.

The tone in Grissom's voice told Nick that he was not going to win any argument. Grissom had never steered them wrong before and Nick knew that Grissom wanted this just as much, if not more than Nick did. _He found Warrick and Warrick was always close to Grissom._

"Ok." Nick left Grissom's office dishearten, but he trusted Grissom and it was only for Grissom that he was going to do what he was told.

"Hey earth to Stokes, you still in there?" asked Tatum.

"Sorry zoned out," said Nick.

"Well I was rewarded for my slave labor with two days off to recover. I'll see you Thursday." Tatum went to head out and Nick called out to her.

"Hey you still have my clothes." Tatum turned around.

"I haven't even seen my apartment in almost three days. I'm gonna do the laundry tomorrow night and until than you can suffer without you're A&M apparel. I miss my cd and you don't hear me bitching. Night Nicky." Tatum walked out of the locker room and Nick was getting ready to head out when Catherine came up to him.

"Hey, Grissom wants to see in his office before we head out."

"For what?"

"I don't know. And by the way…I heard a funny story from Wendy. Something about you taking case from one of the swingers. I feel hurt that you never took any of my cases from me," teased Catherine.

"She had seven all at once with no one helping her Cat. She was threatening to kill herself in the break room."

"So you were trying to save yourself some work then?"

"Exactly," said Nick.

"Yeah right. Come on Grissom wants us now," said Catherine. They headed into Grissom's office and saw that Greg was already seated and Ecklie and Grissom were sitting there. Nick and Catherine took there seats and Nick had a feeling this was not going to be a social call.

"I know you're all very tried and that it's been a long night for everyone so I'll make this quick. We're going to be holding interviews for a new nightshift CSI and we hope to have someone in here within the month," said Ecklie. While one part of Nick was grateful they were going to be getting some help another part of him was annoyed that it was coming so soon after Warrick. _We couldn't get anyone after Sara left but we're filling Warrick's place damn quick._

"We are also bringing in a counselor for you to talk to about Warrick's passing. We would like you to all schedule a time to speak with her to resolve any issues you have," said Ecklie.

"It's not a suggestion either," said Grissom looking at Nick who was going to say something.

"When is she coming in?" asked Greg.

"She should be here today and tomorrow morning," said Ecklie. He pulled out a clip board with a sheet of paper on it. "Here are the time slots, if they don't work for you we can work something out so you can meet with her later." He handed them the clip board and Greg and Catherine signed up for a meeting this morning and handed it off to Nick. He sighed and signed up for a slot tomorrow morning and handed the paperwork off to Grissom.

"Ok, go get some rest people," said Ecklie and he left the office. Catherine sighed.

"I'm gonna go get some sleep before I meet with the shrink. Night guys." She left the office and Greg looked at Grissom.

"Where do I go to talk to the shrink?"

"Upstairs, meeting room B," said Grissom. Greg got up and headed out. Grissom turned to Nick.

"I talked to Greg, he agreed to follow. He didn't like it but he agreed. Ecklie also told me that he's going to start conducting an in house investigation about corruption in the department." said Grissom. Nick nodded and Grissom eyed him.

"If you don't want to talk to the shrink at least talk to me Nick," said Grissom.

"If Warrick was here he wouldn't…." Grissom cut him off.

"He would if he knew what was at stake. I know this is hard, but please trust me on this."

"Alright…night Grissom." Nick left and tried to sleep. It was a lost cause and he came on to shift already exhausted and was put through the ringer, he closed his suicide girl case and vowed to never meet with a hypnotist to fix his issues and picked up an assault at a bar that left two people dead, three injured and several thousand dollars of damage all over a baseball game bet. _Another reason why Warrick quit gambling, you do stupid shit like this._ Nick was getting ready to head home when Greg came up to him.

"Aren't you supposed to meet with the head doctor today?" asked Greg.

"Shit man I almost got out of here without seeing her!" Greg shrugged.

"I know how you feel about them, they offer the _best_ advice," muttered Greg. Nick knew what Greg meant. Greg had been made to go to mandatory counseling after he was nearly beaten to death and hit Demetrius James almost two years ago. Nick was made to go after he was saved from the coffin and really how could someone understand what the hell that was like unless they went through it.

"So what did you talk about?" asked Nick.

"I told her I had a free therapist at home who makes me pie, who understands me and lets me talk for more than an hour. Sometimes even during sex," joked Greg.

"That…god that is wrong Greg!" cried Nick who was trying not laugh. Greg shut his locker.

"You should have seen the look on her face. I wish I could have gotten a picture of it." He sat down on the bench. "I just sort of babbled at her you know, I talked about Jenna, about Katie, what would happen to them if something happened to me, how Jen and I started talking about who would take care of Katie and any other kids we could have, we talked about how Jenna's mom is looking at living only for another year. I think she told me to come back next week on the house."

"Are you?" asked Nick.

"Only if she has pie, besides my home therapist is so much hotter and understands. I got go get Katie from daycare. See you tomorrow man," said Greg and he left. Nick trudged upstairs and decided to get this the hell over with.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Mr. Stokes if you're not going to talk with me, nothing is going to be accomplished," said Angela the HR counselor.

"They said I had to come up here, didn't say I had to talk," said Nick. They had been here for almost thirty minutes and he knew he was giving Angela a hard time, but really what the hell could she say. _Sorry your friend died for no reason at all other than crossing paths with the wrong person._ Angela set her notebook aside and grabbed her purse.

"Ok, fine. I'm gonna balance my checkbook is that ok?" She pulled out her checkbook and mini calculator. "We can just sit here for the next thirty minutes and I can tell you about how I caught my son and a girl from school in my new hot tub. You almost had a double homicide on your hands."

"Look you're a very nice lady but really you can't say anything that's gonna make me feel better," said Nick.

"I understand that, I know I don't understand what you're going through. You lost someone you considered family. If you don't want to talk to me I understand that, but you really should talk to someone. You clearly have some hostility issues."

"Who? Who should I talk to?" asked Nick. Angela sat her checkbook aside.

"Anyone you want. Tell you what, I'll say you did the full hour, but you need to talk to someone. Bottling everything up is getting you nowhere and in the long run it's going to hurt someone." Nick grabbed his jacket and stormed out. "Have a nice day; you know where to find me."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

He drove for hours not really thinking where he was going. He had tonight off through some fluke of nature. _I don't know who to talk to or want to talk to or…I'll owe her again, but at least she'll understand and I won't feel like I'm dumping on her._

He parked his truck next to her car went up to Tatum's door and knocked, hoping he wasn't waking her up on her day off if he remembered right. He heard footsteps come to the door and open it. Tatum looked through the screen at him confused and opened the door.

"Wow you really want those clothes back huh. Come in I was washing them." She opened the door and let him in. "I'm almost sorry that I borrowed them to sleep in. If I knew you were gonna hound me about them." She turned to say something else and she saw that Nick was leaning against her counter and he looked near tears. _Oh dear,_ thought Tatum. She went up to him and touched his arm and looked at him.

"I promise I used fabric softener." Nick shook his head and he started to cry, he put his head on Tatum's shoulder and he cried. _Poor guy,_ thought Tatum.

"Hey, hey what's going on here?" He just kept crying and he leaned on Tatum. Tatum sighed and hugged him. "Bad case? Bad day? Bad month…bad life?" He let out something between a laugh and a sob. "I hate to be a bitch here, but you're very heavy and my arm is starting to hurt." He straightened up and wiped his eyes.

"Sorry, it's just…the past two weeks have been shitty and I really needed that." He sat down in Tatum's living room and looked around. Her apartment was neat but lived in. Papers, books and magazines were piled on the table, folded clothes were sitting in a basket on the sofa with hangers nearby, a half finished glass of iced tea was sitting on the table; pictures were on a shelf to his right.

He looked over to study the photos and noticed one of them was of Tatum and a little boy. _This must have been her son._ He was a splitting image of Tatum, bright red hair, blue eyes and fair skin. He was dressed in a karate outfit and both were grinning into the camera.

That's Joey," said Tatum sitting a glass of ice tea and some tissues in front of him.

"Not to be rude but you got anything strong than tea?" asked Nick. Tatum tossed the clothes from the washer into the dryer and came back into the living room.

"Nope. I don't drink," said Tatum. "So do you mind me asking why you had such a shitty day? Most people who come to me in tears are people from group?"

"Group?" asked Nick.

"AA, I'm a sponsor."

"I'm sorry I didn't know." _Always bringing up sore points with her you jackass._

"Well it's not public knowledge. It's not tattooed on my forehead that I was a lush. You're avoiding my question by the way. What made your day so shitty?" She moved the clothes aside and sat on the sofa with her legs curled up under her.

Nick sighed and told her about the new CSI that was coming in, the counselor who was trying to 'help them move on' and the fact that Warrick's case was getting colder by the day and other than the new in house investigation nothing was going forward.

"It's just…"

"You feel like shit because you can't do anything with the case and it pisses you off that someone who doesn't know anything is telling you to move on and that it feels like your friend is being replaced all at the same time." Nick stopped in mid sip and nodded.

"Yeah. It's just shitty you know. I mean I understand why we had to bring someone new in and yet it just feels like they want us to forget about him. And I hate shrinks, I know they mean well but…"

"They're pricks," suggested Tatum and Nick let out a small laugh.

"I swear if I hear them say one more time 'I understand what you're going through' I don't think I should be held accountable for what I do," said Nick.

"I had to go to one after Joey was killed and she told me she understood even though she didn't have children and she never lost anyone close to her. At least when I tell people on a case I understand at least I'm honest, I do understand." Tatum sipped her tea and Nick felt the uncomfortable silence growing between them and he spoke up again.

"So...your kid did karate?" asked Nick looking at the photo again. Tatum gave him a half smile.

"He was my little bad ass. He got his white belt that night and I swear I had to pry it from his hands when he went to sleep." Tatum leaned over Nick and she brushed against him when reaching for the photo. "This was the last picture I got of him." She leaned back on her side of the sofa and looked at the picture.

"What happened to the guys who hit you?" asked Nick and Tatum scoffed.

"Four teenagers in the SVU, they were charged as teenagers. One is in a wheelchair for life, the driver and the other kids who somehow didn't get a dent on them did some time, 13 months was the sentence. They severed seven in teen prison-good behavior and their probation finished up this year. So they get to go on with their lives like nothing happened."

"Sucks when the law screws you over," said Nick._ You never expect it too and when it does it hurts like hell._ Tatum sat the photo down.

"We can't win them all." The dryer buzzed and Tatum got up and went into a little closet and pulled out his shorts and tee shirt that she borrowed. She folded them and went back and handed them to him. "I believe these are yours." Nick took them back from her and smiled.

"Thanks."

"Well I wasn't going to leave them dirty. That's just bad manners." Nick shook his head.

"Thanks for listening to me; I really didn't want to talk to that shrink and…"

"You didn't want to bother anyone else?" asked Tatum.

"I guess." Tatum patted his head.

"Oh Betty you're so thoughtful."

"Listen I'm not doing anything tonight you wanna hang out?" asked Nick. _Oh god why do I sound like a moron?_

"I was just gonna spend the day here doing most two weeks worth of laundry. Can you fold fitted sheets? They confuse the hell out of me," joked Tatum

"I just throw mine the closet on a shelf," said Nick.

"Good god no," cried Tatum.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"How have you never seen Clerks before? It's a classic," said Tatum when they finished watching it.

"No, The Godfather is a classic. That was ok, other than her sleeping with the dead guy it was an ok movie," said Nick.

"Heathen. I should kick you out of my home for saying a Kevin Smith movie 'is ok'. Nick looked at his watch and notice that it was getting close to midnight. _I've been here all day._ It was nice, they had lunch and dinner from the pizza place around the corner and had spent the whole day just watching movies and talking about their lives before coming to Vegas. _It was nice to talk to someone about something other than work._

"Actually you should kick me out it's almost midnight and I heard that dayshift is gonna be short again. Two are supposed to be in court tomorrow and when I left they were still going over a drug bust. You're gonna need the sleep."

"Yes Captain Buzzkill." Nick looked at her wounded.

"Captain Buzzkill huh. I'll remember that when you find yourself drowning in cases and need a life guard." He picked up his clothes from the coffee table.

"Thanks for washing them."

"Told you if would be bad manners to leave them dirty."

"Night," said Nick and without really even thinking about it he hugged Tatum and it felt, right somehow to be this close to her. He had been mere inches from her all day and some part of him wanted to make a move and yet he found he couldn't do it. He went through the list of reasons he shouldn't: _She's eleven years younger than you, she's a co-worker, just no don't do it, it's not the right time to even go there._

Tatum went to step away and their eyes locked and without even thinking about it, he kissed her. She froze up at first and Nick waited for her to push him away and throw him outside with her good arm and kick his ass for good measure. She didn't though, instead she kissed him back. _Oh god yes,_ thought Nick deepening the kiss, dropping the clothes on the floor and pulled her closer to him.

He couldn't remember the last time it felt this good to be with someone. _Kristy…almost eight years ago that was the last time it felt right._ She tasted like sweet tea, something warm and comforting. _I need this, I can't remember the last time I needed something like this. _He broke the kiss and started to kiss a path down her neck.

"Honey," he muttered kissing her. Tatum took a step back and Nick realized he had overstepped himself with her. She looked spooked out of her mind like she was ready to bolt.

"Nick, I'm not sure this is the right time for _this_," She went to say something more and he cut her off.

"I don't care…I just…I wanna feel _something_ Tate." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and whispered in her ear. "I won't hurt you, trust me please."

"Promise this stays between us?"

"Yes."

"We'll stay friends after this?"

"Of course." Tatum looked back up at him and loved how she smiled at him and got closer to him, not an inch between them.

"Ok." And she pulled him in for another kiss and he loved it, he loved it when he felt her hands on his chest fighting with the buttons on his shirt, he loved the feel of her skin when he touched her and the feel of the sheets when she took him into her bedroom.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I think I finally understand that song," said Tatum laying on her stomach looking over at him. Nick looked over at Tatum and grinned.

"What song?" asked Nick.

"Save a horse, ride a cowboy," giggled Tatum and Nick nudged her hard.

"You are not right at all."

"And you just slept with me so who's worse here?" asked Tatum. Nick raised his hand and she smiled. "I win!" He scooted closer to her and put a hand on her back.

"You are really, really wrong."

"Whine, whine, whine. You done Captain Buzzkill?" Tatum looked over at him and kissed him. Nick kissed her back and grinned at her.

"No."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_He was back at the diner and was waiting for the waitress to come out of the kitchen and he sighed in defeat and headed out to his truck._

_"I was dying," said a voice. Nick turned around and saw Warrick standing there._

_"Rick?"_

_"I was dying and where were you?" asked Warrick. Nick was floored and he couldn't speak. He noticed that Warrick was bleeding from the chest and the neck. He got closer to Nick and Warrick glared at him._

_"I needed you, we were friends and where were you? In there, trying to get lucky…I needed you!"_

_"Rick, I'm sorry." Warrick grabbed him._

_"You let me down man, still are."_

Nick woke up with a start and realized he wasn't in his bedroom, Tatum looked over at him.

"You ok?"

"Yeah just a bad dream." Tatum sighed and settled in to her side.

"We get all the bad dreams; you think anyone else gets them?" Nick laid back down. She was the first person to not try to coddle him after he woke up from a nightmare, he didn't want to talk about them or even think about them. He reached over and brushed some of her hair back.

"Don't know, nice to know I'm not alone though." _It really is._ Tatum shrugged and dozed back off. Nick tried to go back to sleep and couldn't, that feeling about this being right was gone. Instead he felt a sense of guilt, _your best friend is dead and you're sleeping with a co-worker nice way to remember him._ Nick shook his head and got out bed and started to get dressed.

"You leaving?" asked Tatum half asleep. _Shit._

"Um yeah…is that ok?" she gave him a shrug and a half smile.

"Not dating me, not married to me. I won't tell if you won't tell. We're still friends; I'll see you at work in a few hours."

"Yeah, see ya Tate." Nick left the bedroom and headed out. Before he left he picked up the clothes she washed for him. _Smells like lilies…like her._ He left her apartment and drove home, he wanted to feel something and he felt empty. _I can't…not now…I need to focus on work, finding who killed Warrick…I can't do this with her now._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tatum came into the break room, got herself a cup of coffee and grinned at Nick.

"You got my cd?" asked Tatum.

"What?" asked Nick.

"My cd, Soho Dolls. You got your clothes back, I want my cd back," joked Tatum.

"I'm sorry I forgot. I'll bring it in later." Grissom came in.

"Tatum, you belong to us tonight. Got an attempted robbery off Strip, I need you and Nick to check it out." Grissom handed the slip to Nick and left.

"Hey can you head out and I'll meet you there?" asked Nick handing her the slip.

"Ok." _Is anyone else sensing the weird here._ "You alright?" asked Tatum touching his arm.

"I'm fine. I'll see you there." Nick left the break room and Tatum went, got her kit and the keys to an SUV. She was at the scene for nearly an hour when Catherine showed up.

"Hey sorry I'm late, got held up in traffic," said Catherine.

"Where's Nicky?" asked Tatum. Catherine gave her a look. "He was supposed to meet me here. Grissom assigned the case to us."

"Oh he switched cases with me, I had a dumpster run and this seemed better somehow," said Catherine.

"I got the pictures and I'm working on the sketch. Think you could start swabbing and collecting?" asked Tatum.

"Sure." They worked the scene quickly and were back at lab going through stuff when Catherine spoke up.

"So…you and Nick have been spending a lot of time together. Anything behind it?" Tatum shrugged. _I keep my word at all times._

"We're just friends," said Tatum. Catherine grinned at Tatum.

"He's a big sweetie," said Catherine. "Lot of girls around the lab would like to be in your shoes."

"And if I screw him over you're gonna beat my ass right?" asked Tatum.

"Absolutely." Tatum sat her clip board down.

"Really it's nothing, we're just friends and unless he says or does anything to move in a different direction that's where we're staying."

"Smart girl," said Catherine.

"Daddy didn't raise no fools," said Tatum and both of them started laughing.

"Honestly though, I think you would be good for him. He needs a little sunshine in his life right now." Tatum didn't say anything, but Catherine noticed the shy smile that crossed the young CSI's face.

_Good for you Nicky,_ thought Catherine.

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

"How was your trash run?" asked Tatum. Nick looked up from his dinner.

"Dirty." Tatum sat down across from him with her lunch and started to eat.

"And to think college students make a sport of dumpster diving. My friend Eric used to dumpster dive when he was at the academy. Found the coolest shit sometimes…" Nick cut her off.

"I got go, I only stopped for my break. I'll see you later though kay."

"Ok," Nick threw the rest of his dinner away and left the break room. Tatum tried to ignore the little twist of hurt and finished her lunch. _It's nothing…we're friends, just friends that's all._

Episode mentions-The Happy Place and possible spoilers for Art Imitates Life.

Love it/hate it/review it please


	6. Someone you use

Someone you use

Someone you use

_Late June-Early July-2008_

"Hey where's Tatum I finally have her DNA done from her case two days ago," said Wendy looking around the break room. Nick didn't speak he didn't know where she was, avoiding her was key being around her was too hard. Ronnie spoke up.

"She got caught up in a meeting with Ryan sometime about a case she had got delayed going to court."

Wendy sighed and left the break room. Ronnie got up and went to finish up leftover cases from dayshift and Nick sat down and finished his coffee. He hadn't spoke to Tatum in almost three weeks, he avoided her like the plague. _Maybe she finally got the hint, she hasn't spoke to me in a week now._ At the same time he missed talking to her, working cases with her, honestly he just missed her. _I can't go back, I made my choice and I can't do this with her right now._ He finished his coffee and went to pick up his assignments for the night and hoped he wouldn't have to trade off cases again in case Tatum was working with nightshift tonight.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tatum Renee Fritz had long ago given up having expectations about anything in her life. Having expectations led to disappointment and she had enough disappointments in her life.

She had expected her parents to fix their issues and come back to North Carolina-it didn't happen and she stayed in Utah. She expected to go to school in New York and be near her high school sweetheart-it didn't happen either she had a baby instead. She expected to see her baby go to school, summer camp, college, get married, and the whole nine yards-it didn't happen either, she buried him next to her grandparents when he was only five.

So when Nick Stokes made his move on her, Tatum honestly didn't expect anything to come of it, she honestly didn't. It was a one time thing only, but he promised her that he would still be her friend afterward. If it hadn't been for him promising her that she wouldn't have gone there with him. She wasn't going to be a notch on any man's bedpost. _It was between friends, he needed a friend and what the hell, one time only. _

"Tatum," said Ryan. She stood up and straighten her skirt out. She picked up her folder and walked into his office.

_Last week_

_Really what the hell is up with him, _thought Tatum collecting trace from a DB. Greg was taking pictures of the body. _Nick was supposed to be out here instead he traded cases with Greg._ She finished her collection of trace from the body and started collecting prints.

"You ok?" asked Greg lowering the camera.

"Yeah just a bit tired. I got a bit of the summer cold shit going around according to my doctor. She wasn't finding any prints and Greg clicked some more photos.

"I thought Nick was going to work this with me," said Greg. _Join the club,_ thought Tatum. "He's still kind of pissed with me about I really don't know what," admitted Greg.

"Why did you look at him wrong?" asked Tatum. Greg looked at her questioningly but said nothing.

"I gave Mandy a second 'Save the Date' because she lost her and Nick seemed sort of pissed that Jenna and I are going ahead with the wedding in September." _Well he seems pissed off about a lot of shit that doesn't make sense,_ thought Tatum.

She really didn't understand his behavior towards her since that night, it ended on what she thought was a good note. The following night he traded his case off to Catherine and was short with her when she went to talk to him. The last two weeks had been nothing but him avoiding her, he didn't talk to her when she was in the lab, he traded cases if he found out she was gonna be there, if she came into the break room, he walked out. She wanted to confront him about his behavior but she could never get him alone and he always seemed to be on a case or off shift when she could get away.

_I'm not a notch on a belt for any man, I refuse to be a notch on a belt._ She had her fill last week and she found him working alone in a layout room. She looked around quickly and saw that all the techs were busy and all of night shift was out on calls. She walked into the layout room and shut the door behind her and leaned against it.

"What's up?" asked Tatum, Nick looked up at her and for a second she thought she saw something in his eyes like guilt.

"Not much," he turned back to the evidence and Tatum grabbed a pair of gloves and looked through what he had on the table. "What are you doing?"

"Looking." She picked up a wallet and he took out of her hands.

"I can handle this." She glared at him and snapped.

"What bug crawled up your ass?" Nick looked at her and she went on. "Look I really need to talk to you and you've been avoiding me. I'm going to grovel a bit here, something very much against my nature, but if I did something to freak you out I'm sorry. But this petty 'I'm not gonna talk to you or even acknowledge you exist' routine is getting old and I don't deserve it no matter what I did." He sat down the wallet and sighed.

"You're right you don't deserve it. I can meet you after shift for breakfast, anywhere you want," said Nick.

"A new place opened up off Boulder. It's called Rosie's we can talk and no one will know."

"Ok. I'll see you at six than," said Nick.

"Kay." Tatum left the layout room and looked back at Nick who was back working on his case like nothing had happened and she felt that twist of hurt growing.

She waited for him nearly four hours, she called his cell and got nothing. That night she said nothing to him, she didn't have anything to say to him. She knew where she stood with him. _I was just a notch after all nothing more, not even a friend. _

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"We've gone over everything and you have outstanding recommendations from here and from Utah, we have your test records, your medical records and your request to transfer from the lab into the Youth and Family Department. I don't see any reason to deny the transfer considering the situation. But really, you could stay with us. We could train you on AV, prints both of them are perfectly safe," said Ryan.

"I really wanna go to Y&F. I think it would be a good fit for me. And I'll do well professional and personally. It would be the best move for me sir." Ryan sighed.

"You went fishing off the company pier didn't you?" Tatum gave him a look. "It's none of my business honey. I'll pass these on to Ecklie and he'll pass them on to Y&F. You should be out of the lab by the end of the month." Ryan took her hand and shook it. "I'm gonna miss you. You're a damn good CSI and if you ever wanna come back in and work with us again, I'll take you back in a heartbeat baby."

"Thank you." Tatum stood up and left Ryan's office and walked passed Nick and didn't say anything to him and he said nothing back to her.

_I was so damn stupid to think I meant anything, doesn't matter now._ She hadn't expected to have feelings for him and it was just another disappointment in her life that she would have to deal with.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_July 2008_

She had only told a few people she was leaving, she told Ronnie and Greg. She had always liked them, Greg was a cool guy and had always been cool with her and well she loved the hell out of Ronnie and would miss them both. Grissom had come up to her in the break room last night and sat down across from her.

"I enjoyed working with you. Sara always spoke very highly of you as a CSI and she was right. I thank you for the work you've done with my team and for my team."

"How did you find out?" asked Tatum.

"HR girl talked to Hodges and well Hodges is my stalker, but he keeps me in the loop. Good luck Tatum." He shook her hand.

"Thank you." He stood up and left. _The bug guy isn't so creepy after all._

She stood there with her box in front of her locker and put her extra clothes in the box. She took her pictures off the door and they went into the box. She looked at her vest and smiled at. _I think I'll almost miss wearing this ugly piece of shit._ She wiped her eyes and put her vest on. _Last time, last time ever._ Greg came into the locker room and looked at her.

"Do I get to work with you for your last night huh?" asked Greg.

"Last shift baby," Tatum held up the assignment slip. "Figures they give me the murder/suicide on my last night here. It's punishment really." She picked up her box. "Let me take this out of my car and I'll meet you in the garage. Kay?"

"Ok," said Greg and Tatum picked up her box and headed out. She walked passed Nick with her box and said nothing. She missed the confused look on his face and the look of hurt in hurt in his eyes has she walked past him.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What she is doing?" asked Nick looking at Greg who was getting ready to head out for the night.

"Tatum is transferring out of the lab; it's her last night here," said Greg looking at Nick surprised.

"What?" _Seriously what the hell? She's leaving…she can't._

"Yeah she's going to be working with Crimes against Youth and Family after tonight. I got to go; we're working her last case." Greg grabbed his vest and left the locker room and missed how stunned Nick was that Tatum was leaving the lab for good.

"Hey Nicky you think you can take the paperwork tonight? I just got a 419 and it sounds bad and I would give it to Grissom but it will never get done," said Catherine.

"Sure," Catherine stopped him.

"Hey what's up? Looks like someone kicked your dog. You ok?" asked Catherine.

"Fine, just give me the paperwork," said Nick and she handed him the stack.

"Have a nice night." Nick sat down in a layout room and tried to block out every screaming thought in his head.

_Leaving…she's leaving the lab._ Paperwork didn't require that much thought and people left him alone and he needed to be alone with his thoughts. Something was tightening in his chest and he wondered if he was having a heart attack, _she can't go…stop her._ Nick sipped his water and tried to breathe.

_She's an adult and it's her decision to go._

_That's bullshit and you know it…you pushed her to go._ Nick shook his head and filled in a form and moved on to the next trying to push the next train of thoughts away.

_She's been trying to talk to you for weeks now and you walk away, it's not right…she thought you were friends. This isn't the way you treat friends._ _You…you liked her, it felt right._

He had been a jerk to her and it wasn't right but he felt guilty when he was with her. _She was a distraction, I lost my best friend and was filling a void with her._ The stunt he pulled with her last month was shitty in fact it was beyond shitty, she confronted him about his behavior and he agreed to meet her for breakfast to talk and he stood her up instead. She stopped talking to him after that and he thought it would make him feel better being away from her that the guilt of letting Warrick down would go away. It only made things worst somehow, to see her in the halls and know what he was doing was wrong made him feel worse somehow.

Nick slammed the paper work aside and went to see if Tatum and Greg were back from there case. He spotted them in a layout room and he felt his chest get tighter and something in the pit of his stomach looking at her and he went into the layout room and looked at her and Greg working. Her long red hair was pulled back and she was wearing a pair of reading glasses, she eyed him and than turned back to her work.

_He remember the smile she gave him and he kissed her. How bright her eyes were, a deep shade of blue._ All the warmth she used to give him was gone and all he saw was something he didn't recognize.

"Tate we need to talk." Tatum took off her glasses, cleaned them and than looked at her watch.

"Oh my god it's Nicholas Stokes and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. It's only a month or so after the fact that you want to talk. What do I owe this wonderful honor?" asked Tatum. Greg looked back and forth between them and stopped working.

"About you leaving, we need to talk about that." Tatum turned her attention back to the evidence on the layout table.

"I cleared it with Ecklie and my boss two weeks ago. Why do you care anyway, it's not you've acknowledged me in weeks?" Tatum logged another piece and Nick felt like she punched him in the gut. _She's right…why do you care?_ Nick looked at Greg and he really didn't want to explain to Greg what happened between him and Tatum.

"Greg can you give us a minute?"

"Oh no, stay Greg…maybe with a man here Suzie here will explain why I was good enough to sleep with but not good enough after the fact to even speak to in the hallways?" Nick knew his actions were uncalled for and she was calling him out on them for real this time and he needed to explain himself.

"Tate…" started Nick but Tatum cut him off.

"I didn't expect a relationship with you afterwards, but I did expect some respect from you. Even the dead hooker got a phone call from you the next day asking to go out for breakfast. However, you ignore me; you won't work cases with me and in general have been a giant asshole to me. I'm sick of it and you." Tatum took off her gloves and glared at him.

"I'm not going to tip-toe around you anymore the way everyone else in the lab does. You're an asshole and because everyone is so worried about you, people have started rearrange their lives so they don't piss you off." Tatum turned to Greg.

"Tell Vicki here about your wedding, oh wait you're not having one now because you don't want someone getting their panties in a twist and think you're being disrespectful to the dead guy." It was below the belt and demeaning to bring Warrick into this and he felt his temper start to creep.

"Tatum," said Greg in a low tone.

"Don't even talk about Warrick like that!" snapped Nick. Tatum took off her lab coat and threw it on the ground.

"Don't worry Susan you won't have to talk to me anymore. I'm done…good luck Greg and fuck you Nick." Tatum walked past him and headed out of the lab. It took him a second to get himself back and than he started to follow Tatum and calling after her. _She had no right to do that no right at all…I was going to explain myself but fuck her too._ Tatum ignored him calling out to her and she left the building but he wasn't going to let her get the last word.

"Tatum! What the hell!" snapped Nick once they got into the parking garage. Her outburst in front of Greg was uncalled for and her dragging Warrick into it was unforgivable. _Does she have any idea how hard the past few months have been?_ She turned around and glared at him.

"I don't like being disrespected and that's all you've done since having sex with me and I don't have to put up with it. A position opened up with Y&F, I put in, I got it and now I won't be reminded daily of fact that I trusted you, slept with you and than got screwed." Another dig below the belt it hurt but she was right, he couldn't admit it though.

"That is a load of shit!"

"Is it…is that why you avoid me in the lab? Why you switch cases the second you find out I could be on the scene? Was the sex that bad you have to go to such lengths to push me away? Well wait, it's not just me you treat like shit now, you treat Sanders like shit, Willows…is Grissom next?"

"You don't even…"

"Don't you dare say I don't understand what you're going through! Trust me I do, I know what it's like to lose someone you really care about and to not be able to make it right for them. Believe me, I have been on your path and it's lonely and it hurts everyone around you. If you wanna self destruct that's fine, just stop dragging people into it." Nick looked at her speechless and Tatum went on.

"I really liked you for some unknown reason, I would like to blame alcohol for me liking you and for letting you sleep with me not once but twice in one evening, sadly I have been sober for almost two years now. However you just may drive me back to gin and brandy for thinking that you were a decent man, the first decent one I have met since high school."

"Look I'm sorry for what happened, it was wrong of me to not talk to you and to be an ass to you…" _It was mean, you didn't deserve that from me…it's just…I can't now._

"You've been an ass to everyone," said Tatum starting to look a bit sad. "I just got a special dose of it." Nick felt like a jerk for what had happened between them, she didn't deserve the way he treated her. She had been there after Warrick died, it was nice to have someone to talk to and not feel like he was being burden on. _It was nice to feel something good for a little while._

"Tatum, look…don't quit the lab. Let's just talk this over." _Don't leave, even when I wasn't talking to you it was nice just to see you, to know I could talk if I wanted to._

"Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself and anyone else who comes along." She looked pissed at herself for saying that and turned to get in her car.

"What's that suppose to mean?" asked Nick.

"Nothing, just forget I said anything…I'm sure everyone will know sooner or later. Bye Nick," she got in her car and left him alone. _What the hell does that mean?_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tatum came back to the lab the next morning, she forgot to turn in her vest and she imagine she would have to explain her outburst to Ryan. The lab techs would have been talking and Ryan would have heard about it. She parked her car and headed into the lab and right to the locker room and took out the ugly vest. The only reason to make them so ugly was so no one would steal them. She sat down on the bench and stared at the ugly thing and started to cry. She had graduated at 22 and had been a CSI for four years, it had been a huge part of her life. Granted she was going somewhere where she would be doing just has much good, if not more. But it was still a deep sense of lost in her heart.

She wiped her eyes and noticed that she had left her name plate on her locker. All the new CSI's got one when they started, she just never took hers off. _Well it's coming with me damn it I earned it._ She took a pen knife and started to pry it off the locker door.

"What are you doing?" asked Catherine. Tatum held the name plate in her hand.

"Souvenir," said Tatum. "Don't you guys ever go home?"

"I was prepping for court. I want to show you something." Tatum followed Catherine down to the morgue and down past the freezer and into a closet at the end of the hall. She opened the door and flipped on the light. "This is where we say good bye to people." Tatum looked into the closet and saw that the name plates were on the wall along with some writing.

"Sometimes we have to put them up for people, like Holy Gribbs or Sara." Tatum studied the wall.

"Wasn't Ecklie a CSI before he ran the lab, I don't see his name?"

"Wouldn't do it said it was defacing government property." Tatum and Catherine started laughing. "Put your name and your final words up." Catherine handed her a pen. Tatum took it and slapped her tag on the wall. She thought long and hard about what she wanted her parting words to be and started writing quickly. She stepped back and Catherine read her words and smiled.

"It's pretty, sad but pretty. I'm going to miss you. Sure you don't wanna stay?" asked Catherine.

"I can't stay…it's the best thing for me really."

"Nick is gonna miss you."

"No he won't." Catherine put her hand on Tatum's shoulder.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"In the end, I was just someone to use. It was good to work with you. Maybe our paths will cross again."

"I hope so. Good luck Tatum."

"Thanks Catherine." Tatum left and Catherine studied the wall and realized that Warrick's name needed to go up yet. _Tonight, we'll do his tonight._ She clicked off the light and went to court.

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

Nick missed his chance to talk to Greg before he left after shift. Nick noticed that Tatum's nameplate was still on her locker just six lockers over from his. He went over to her locker and touched it. _She wasn't coming back, yeah she was still gonna be in the department but it's not gonna be the same at all. I wanted the distance, created it and now I…I don't know what I want or what to do._

"Don't take her name plate. Catherine will have your head," said Grissom.

"She's going in the Nameplate Graveyard?" asked Nick.

"She earned her spot with everyone else up there. She was a good at what she did. Y&F is lucky to be getting her."

"Yeah they are." Nick went over and shut his locker.

"Sometimes we don't know how good we have it until it goes away," said Grissom.

"Yeah," said Nick.

"You know where I am Nicky if you wanna talk. It's not good for people to be alone all the time, remember?" Nick remembered when Sara left and he told Grissom that same thing. "Go get some rest." Grissom left the locker room and Nick headed home too. He went inside his house and thought about what Tatum had told him about how people were avoiding him, changing their life for him.

_"Tell Vicki here about your wedding, oh wait you're not having one now because you don't want someone getting their panties in a twist and think you're being disrespectful to the dead guy."_

Greg was moving his wedding because of him, Greg had been looking forward to this for sometime and was moving it for their friendship. It wasn't fair to ask Greg or Jenna to do that for him. The birthday thing for Katie hadn't been planned, people just showed up at their house and celebrated. This was something Greg had been talking about for weeks though. _He and Jenna have gone through a lot of shit together the pass two years and if anyone in the world should get married it's those two._ Nick got up and headed across the street to Greg's house.

Nick hadn't been over here in weeks, he used to stop in all the time to hang out after shift or he would stop in before shift to score leftovers from Jenna and just hang out. _I've pushed everyone away, everyone I've cared about I pushed away. Tatum called me on it, I owe her again. Won't be able to pay her back this time though._ He knocked on the door and waited before knocking again. Greg came to the door in his pajama pants and a tee-shirt.

"Hey Greggo can I come in?" asked Nick. Greg let him and they went into the living room. Nick saw that wedding invitations had been left on the coffee table and Nick picked up one of the invites and studied it.

"These are nice, Jenna has good taste." Greg shrugged.

"I was really hoping she would go for the orange and black instead of the white and silver but she outranks me," said Greg trying to joke. Nick smiled a little and sat down on the chair.

"Tatum said you guys were changing your wedding plans. Is that true?" _Please don't be true._

"We just thought it would be better if…" Nick cut him off.

"Don't. Greg get married."

"We are."

"No. Get married the way you planned to get married with the chapel and the tuxes, with the big white dress and the girls in the other colored dresses…what the hell are they again?" asked Nick.

"Bridesmaids," said Greg.

"Don't put your life on hold because I put my life on hold. Or in Tatum's words, 'don't screw your friends over because your hell bent on alienating everyone around you on the path to self destruction.'"

"She said that to you?" _I deserved it, I really did._

"Yeah and lots of other things that I'm not going to repeat, I'm sorry that I've been sort of a jerk lately…it's just…I understand why Sara left now." _It hurts to be here and not be able to fix anything for anyone you care about._

"Are you gonna leave too?" asked Greg.

"This is my life and until we find who killed Warrick I can't go anywhere. I'm gonna go try to get some sleep, you should do the same. I'll see you tonight." Nick stood up to leave and Greg called out to him.

"You know, I still need one more person to be a groomsman. It's really either you or Hodges." _He still wants to be my friend despite everything…thanks Greg it means a lot._

"I'll have to think about…I'll be at the wedding though. Night Greg."

"Night man." Nick left the house and went back home and stared at the phone. _Call her…just pick up the phone and dial her number._ He couldn't do it and he didn't know what he would say to her anyway.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hey, meeting downstairs," said Catherine and she took off.

"The Nameplate Graveyard?" asked Greg.

"Yep," said Nick and he put on his vest.

"I heard Tatum got put up there."

"She earned it, fair and square," said Nick. They headed downstairs and to the closet that held the graveyard. Grissom was already down there with Catherine and Brass. Catherine was holding Warrick's nameplate and the pen. Grissom opened the door and flipped on the light. Over ten years of CSI's and lab techs were on the wall, some had left the lab like Sara and Sofia, others had been killed like Holly and Warrick.

"I'm surprised that Ecklie hasn't thrown a book at us about this," said Greg.

"It's the only thing he looks the other way about," said Grissom.

"Actually he put Cohan and Walters up here. Cohan died of cancer and Walters ended up going to Georgia," said Brass pointing out the nameplates.

"I put up Alford, he was nightshift before Brass," said Grissom.

"So, who wants to do Warrick?" asked Catherine.

"I think Nick should do it," said Grissom. Catherine handed Nick the nameplate and pen.

"Make it good," said Catherine. Nick took the nameplate and placed Warrick's near Sara's nameplate and he thought for a minute before writing.

_"__We lead our lives, and when they end, sometimes we leave a little of ourselves behind. Sometimes we leave money, a painting, sometimes we leave a kind word. And sometimes, we leave an empty space."_

"What's the quote from?" asked Greg.

"Show called Dead Like Me, Warrick and I had a drinking game to it one night. You should have been there man, it was so damn funny. Don't know why I remembered it just now…it just seems right."

"I never figured Miss. Fritz to be the biblical one of us," said Brass looking at Tatum's nameplate and words.

"Book of Job. He who was tested by god and never wavered in his loyalty," said Grissom. Nick looked over and saw Tatum had placed her name plate close to Holly's and he read.

_"Why is light given to those in misery and life to the bitter of soul…The thing I feared has come upon me, what I dreaded has happened to me, I have no peace, no quietness, I have no rest-only turmoil…Have the gates of death been shown to you, have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth…what is the way to the abode of light? Tell me if you know all this?"_

"_If anyone knows can you give me the directions, I lost my map sometime ago and I hope to find it again someday. Good luck to those who will someday be here also. Tatum Fritz." _The others left the closet but him and Catherine.

"Why didn't she have any peace?" asked Catherine.

"I wouldn't give her any." He looked at the nameplate. "I messed up Cat, I messed up big time."

"What happened?"

"I had sex with her and than I pushed her away, treated her like shit. She wouldn't put it up with it though and she was right not to." Nick wiped his eyes and Catherine patted his arm.

"Than fight for her Nicky? If she matters than fight for it."

"I don't deserve her Cat. I don't." He looked at her name plate one more time and left the closet.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_August 2008 _

"She should have told me. It totally makes sense why she left now," said Ronnie.

"Well you can't be handling DB's and violate chemicals when you're in that state," said Hodges. Nick came into the break room and got some coffee.

"Well she told me that when she got closer to her due date that they were gonna move her to doing cyber crimes. You know pretending to be a fourteen year old girl to get the perverts out of hiding," said Ronnie.

"If she had stayed we could have thrown her a baby shower like we did with the future Mrs. Sanders," said Hodges. Ronnie shrugged and looked at Nick.

"So have you heard?"

"Heard what?" He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down.

"About Tatum," prompted Ronnie. Nick's grip tighten on the coffee mug.

"No, not since she went to Y&F."

"Apparently Greg and Jenna started a trend. Unmarried and pregnant is the new black. At least we knew who the baby daddy was when it was them, Tatum is keeping her mouth shut about who's the daddy," said Hodges. They left and Nick sat there in stunned silence. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Youth and Family an operator answered.

"Can you connect me to Tatum Fritz?" asked Nick.

"Sorry she's on dayshift. I can give you her voicemail," said the operator.

"No, I'll try again later." He hung up the phone and got his assignments for the night and tried his best to focus on the cases he was given. _She wanted to talk to me, damn near begged me to talk and I push her away. _When shift ended that night he called Y&F again and was connected to Tatum before he could really think.

"Youth and Family this is Detective Fritz." He couldn't speak; he hadn't her talked in so long it was a shock to the system.

"Hello…hello. This is Detective Fritz can I help you?" He hung up the phone and went home. "_Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself and anyone else who comes along."_ She knew and that's what she wanted to talk about.

He wanted to call her and froze every time he started to dial her number. He sat outside her apartment trying to work up the nerve to go to her door, he tried to get the cases he knew Y&F would be on and yet she wasn't at the same scenes.

_What would you say anyway? Sorry I treated you like shit and knocked you up and haven't spoken to you in almost two months._ _I used her and she knew it, that's why she left and she took a piece of me with her._

Notes-I was watching Abby's last ep on ER and was seriously inspired by Abby and their Nameplate Graveyard. Abby was quoting from the Book of Job and it seemed right for Tatum.

Youth and Family is a department of the LVDP, they're like the Special Victims Unit.

Reviews?


	7. Declarations

Declarations

Declarations

September 2008

Nick finished buttoning his shirt and went back out into the waiting room with the other guys. _God Greggo looks like he's gonna pass out._ Greg was pale and he looked clammy and he wiped sweat off his brow.

"How much longer?" asked Greg. Danny, Greg's cousin looked up from the mini DVD player.

"Since the last time you ask, which was five minutes ago, you still have an hour till the ceremony so just relax man."

"I'm just nervous…I mean this is it. I'm really getting married," said Greg. Nick sat down by a window and looked outside to the Bellagio Fountains. _At least he's marring someone with good tastes, if Greg had anything to do with the wedding planning we probably all be at Manson concert getting married by Ozzy or someone freaky. _ Nick looked back over to Greg who was sitting down next to his cousin.

_ "When you meet someone you have a connection with…and yeah Dawn was a ray of sunshine in my life and it meant a lot," _said a male voice from the DVD player.

"Dude you can't watch this you haven't seen the whole series and it will ruin everything," protested Danny when Greg looked over at the screen. Greg looked ready to kill his cousin and Nick really wasn't in the mood to work a scene on a wedding day.

"Danny I'm in a cold sweat right now so I either sit down and watch this movie or I keep pacing and have a panic attack and we have the wedding in a hospital," said Greg.

"What are you watching anyway?" asked Nick.

"The British edition of The Office, Megan got Julia hooked and now I'm suckered in." Danny moved the screen so Greg could watch too.

_"I don't know what happy ending is, but life isn't about endings is it? It's a series_ _of moments_. _Life just goes on_," said the same male voice.

"Oh come on Dawn don't go back to Florida with that asshole!" cried Danny.

"You know they can't hear you," said Nick. _God is Greg sure he's related to this guy, we have a DNA lab to test this stuff._

"I don't care, you probably yell at football games on TV and they can't hear you," said Danny. Nick went to say something else and Archie just shook his head and Nick backed down. _And the Best Man keeps the peace._

"Ok I'm happy now. They got together," said Danny and he turned off the DVD player and Greg shook his head and started pacing again.

"As your best man I'm telling you to sit down. It's gonna be alright," said Archie. Greg continued his pacing,

"You should have seen my brother before his wedding. So freaked out he couldn't even tie his own shoes," said Nick. "I bet Jenna's just as freaked out as you are." Greg looked at Nick.

"So it's safe to say she's fighting the urge to throw up too?" asked Greg.

"My middle sister Erin threw up right before she walked man and than she had to kiss her husband. Maybe that's why they got a divorce," joked Nick. Greg's eyes got wide and Nick held his hands up.

"It's a joke, she's still married and they have like six kids together." Greg started pacing again and he didn't notice someone knocking at the door. Danny got up and answered it. Julia, one of Jenna's youngest staff members and Danny's wife came in wearing her purple bridesmaid dress and carrying Katie.

"Jen's trying to get dressed and can't with someone trying to play 'tent' with the dress. Watch her please?" Julia handed the toddler off to Danny and Nick couldn't help but call out to her.

"What no skulls and crossbones?" asked Nick recalling the first time he met her at a crime scene in Jenna's bakery wearing a plaid skirt and a pirate shirt.

"Kiss my ass East Texas," snapped Julia picking up her dress and walking away.

"That's my baby," said Danny holding Katie.

"Nice to see that married life hasn't stifled Julia," said Nick. Greg was still pacing the room and didn't seem to notice that his daughter was in the room.

"Hey Earth to Greg," said Danny. Greg snapped out of it and realized that Danny was holding Katie.

"Julia brought her in so Jenna could get dressed." Danny sat her down and Katie toddled over to Greg. _Well she has the walking thing down,_ thought Nick.

"Up-py?" she motioned up at him and Greg picked her up.

"Thought no one was supposed to be cuter than the bride," said Nick looking at Katie. She was dressed in a white dress with a blue sash that was the same color of the vest he and the other guys were wearing and her hair was pulled back with a little butterfly clips.

"Oh she can't help it that she's so cute," said Greg and he tickled her.

"Noooo," she whined and she wiggled to get down. Greg sat her down and she toddled over to Nick.

"She learned no," asked Archie.

"It's her new favorite word," said Greg sadly. Nick picked her up and sat her on his lap and she smiled up at him.

"Hi sunshine," said Nick.

"Hi." Katie sat on his lap and chatted at him and Nick kissed the top of her head. _She too damn cute for her own good._

"Just be happy that it's 'no' and not some four letter 'f' word," said Nick. "Speaking from experience?" asked Greg.

"My nephew at my mom's birthday party one year. We're all singing happy birthday and he just starts chanting it in front of everyone. My dad looked like he wanted to die on the spot." Everyone started laughing and Katie wiggled out of his lap and wandered back over to Greg. He picked her up and started pacing.

"Car is out back, Mexico is a few hours from her," suggested Archie.

"Do you want the moms and the bridesmaid to kill you?" asked Danny. Greg hugged Katie and kept pacing.

"If you guys wanna elope we'll get Jenna and you guys can sneak off," said Nick.

"We tried that before and failed. Why do you think I'm here now," said Greg. Nick remembered it very well, last January when they were on the miniature killer cases and Greg had gotten so wrapped up in his work and missed his own run-away wedding. Jenna had come down to the lab and read Greg the riot act about standing her up and lying to her about his civil suit. She left the lab leaving Greg looking like he had been beat up again and Nick followed her to her car to talk to her about easing up on Greg. Instead he learned something from her.

_Jenna was marching through the parking lot ripping up some papers and muttering to herself when Nick caught up with her._

_"Jenna, hey Jen. Wait up a second."_

_"Go to hell Nick." She was reaching into her purse for her keys when Nick grabbed her arm and made her look at him._

_"Look, whatever Greg did he feels like shit about it and that remark was uncalled and cruel. We've been really swamped tonight and this miniature killer thing has been taunting us for months and we all want to put it to bed. I don't expect you to understand what we deal with, but ease up on Greg, with this civil suit coming up…" Jenna jerked her arm out of his grasp and let out a bitter laugh._

_"Well I guess I was going to be the only one left in the dark about this civil suit thing. The reporters know and you know so I'm going to assume the whole LVPD knows. And what you deal with…see Nicky we do understand, it's you who doesn't understand what we deal with."_

_"We?" asked Nick confused; Jenna lived with Greg how could she not know about the civil suit. _

_"Me, Tina, Lindsey, all the other people who get involved, who care about you. We care about you, more than you will ever understand. We put you first, above everything else because of what you do the people you help. But, we'll never be first in your life, they will," said Jenna pointing to the lab. "They always will and after awhile we get so tired of a dead body coming first, we try anything to get you to remember we're here. Tina started fucking behind Warrick's back, Lindsey hitchhikes to Freemont Street so Catherine will pay attention to her, and I heard Ellie Brass had to become a drug mule to get Brass's attention." Jenna started pulling on her necklace and her eyes start to tear up. "I said yes to getting married." _

_Nick's jaw dropped and Jenna went on. "But he never showed up because of work. And it doesn't matter that I've been there for him through everything, I'm still second and I know Greg's been through hell and I've tried to hold his hand while he went though it, but you just can't…shut people out and expect them just shrug it off. And …" _

_She seem to lose her train of thought and Nick wondered if she was having some sort of breakdown, she looked at him and in the calmest voice possible she started talking again. "I need to not be here. Tell Greg I'm sorry, I won't bother him at work anymore." She shoved the paper she had been ripping up at him. "Can you throw that away; I won't need it now." She got in the car and Nick stopped her from shutting the door._

_"Jen, it's you and Tina and Lindsey that keep us going. The fact they we get to go home to people like you guys helps us keep going." Jenna nodded and started the car._

_"See Nicky, that's the thing. We keep you going, what do we have to keep us going?" _

_She almost slammed his hand in the door and almost ran over his foot when she drove out of the parking lot. Nick looked down at the paper she had been ripping up and noticed that on the top of the shredded pile were the words._ _Clark County-Marr_ _she had ripped the rest up. Damn it, Nick headed inside to find Greg and tell him about the meltdown he had_ _just witnessed first hand. He got stopped by Sofia in the hallway._

_"I need you to come with me on a possible child abduction case in Henderson." Shit, I'll have to get to Greggo later. He followed Sofia down out of the lab and thought about what Jenna had said._

"_We keep you going, what do we have to keep us going?" _

"You only have forty minutes till the ceremony so just mellow out," said Archie. Greg adjusted Katie on his hip.

"So how was your mommy doing this morning?" asked Greg looking at the toddler. _Greg's lucky that Jenna wanted to work it out and have him back in her life._

Nick looked back out the window and thought about how Jenna's pregnancy had brought her back to Greg and they were able to work things out between them. A part of him had hoped Tatum would want to talk to him about her pregnancy, that maybe something between them could be saved. _She hasn't told me yet, I had to find out through lab gossip._ Than again he couldn't blame her without turning the finger around in mid blame back at himself. _She wanted to talk to me, I pushed her away. I made it very clear that I didn't want anything to do with her and she wants nothing to do with me now._ He missed her more than he was willing to admit, something about the lab seemed different. He found himself looking over to her locker when he was getting ready and remembering that she wasn't coming in anymore. _I miss the jokes, the girl names, I miss her._

"Hey you wanna line up with everyone else?" asked Archie. Nick realized that Greg and Katie had left the room and that the ceremony was about to get started. "You ok man?"

"Yeah, just hoping I don't trip and make an ass of myself," said Nick following Archie into the hallway. The wedding planner was forcible lining people up. Julia glared at him.

"We did this last night, I think we know how to stand in the line and walk," snapped Julia. Jenna's sister in law, Karen took her place by Nick.

"I'll give you twenty bucks to help us kill the wedding planner," said Karen.

"I've already had to do one crime scene at a wedding and that once was enough," said Nick.

"I heard your truck stolen was that true?" asked Karen.

"Has Greg told everyone that story?" asked Nick. Jenna started laughing.

"I was having a bad day and Greg was trying to cheer me up." Nick turned around to talk to Jenna and went momentarily speechless. She was wearing a white dress with a purple underskirt and purple beading on the skirt and her long dark hair was hanging in loose curls and she looked happy but nervous about walking down the aisle. He could see why Greg had fallen so hard for the Italian Mexican bakery owner.

"Close your mouth East Texas. She's taken," said Julia

"It's just a very nice dress," said Nick. Jenna stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'll tell Greg that you said that." The music cued up and the wedding planner started to freak out and ordered everyone to line up.

"Will you chill out!" snapped Ofilia the maid of honor and the little man walked away quickly and Ofilia grinned. "Wow it worked."

"I love you," said Jenna. "He was driving me to drink."

"Just don't throw up," teased Nick.

"It's time," said the wedding planner softly and Ofilia and Archie started the walk. Karen looked up at Nick.

"If I fall you're coming down with me."

"What if I fall?" asked Nick.

"I'm leaving your ass than," said Karen causing Nick to laugh.

"Go!" said the wedding planner almost pushing them out the door. Nick really couldn't look around to see who was sitting in the pews around them until he took his spot up front and looked around. He spotted the lab rats taking up two pews, _once a lab rat always a lab rat,_ thought Nick. He spotted Catherine and Lindsey sitting by Grissom, Sara and Brass. _Nice to see the family here._ He looked around one last time before Jenna came up the aisle and he saw the one person he really hadn't expected to see. _Tate…_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Thanks for coming with me, I really hate going solo to these things and really you're cheaper than hiring an escort," said Tatum. Alec Norwich looked at her and shrugged.

"Well you are my partner now and I'm supposed to trust with my life and all that jazz so what's a wedding between friends. Besides I heard the squints throw really good parties," said Alec.

"Oh totally. Have you ever seen the lab rats get down? It's Youtube material at it's finest," said Tatum taking her seat and handing Alec her wedding program.

"That's really nice of them," said Alec reading over the wedding program.

"What it is?" she took the wedding program from him and started reading.

"To those who couldn't be here with us today: Martin Bianchi-Father of the Bride, Sophia Carillo-Grandmother of the Bride and Warrick Brown-Friend and family member of the Bride and Groom. Yeah that it is sweet," Tatum handed the program back to Alec.

"Tatum," she looked up and saw Catherine standing nearby. "It's go to see you again and oh…" Tatum had stood up to hug Catherine and while it wasn't a huge weight gain the bump was starting to show up. "So the rumors are…"

"Very true," said Tatum.

"Have you and…" the music started up and Catherine gave her look that told Tatum she was going to get an earful later. Alec looked at Tatum.

"She's knows it's not mine right," whispered Alec in mock horror.

"I'll tell her later," whispered Tatum. Alec put an arm around her.

"We can still bolt if you want."

"I wanna be here, I like Sanders and plus the food should be worth it," joked Tatum. Alec smiled at her and they watched the wedding party walk forward. She recognized Archie and then she felt her breath catch at the sight of Nick coming up behind Archie. _It's my baby, not his. He's a sperm donor and that's all. He made up his mind months ago were we stood. I raised one kid on my own and I can do again. _She saw Nick look in her direction and she felt herself tense up and Alec squeeze her hand.

"You ok?" asked Alec. _He's a really good guy and I like him, it's more than just a partnership it's all straight forward with Alec. None of the hot/cold bullshit that I got with Nick._ While they weren't dating they were close and really it was both of them refusing to take the step forward. Tatum looked towards the front of the chapel and saw that Jenna was now up front with Greg and both of them looked scared out of their minds. _Oh god they are so cute,_ thought Tatum.

"We are gathered her today to watch two people join their lives together: Gregory Hojem Sanders and Jenna Daniella Antoinette Bianchi. If anyone has any reason why these two should not be married today please speak now or forever hold your piece," said the preacher. Greg looked like he was waiting for a bomb to drop and than Archie leaned in and muttered something to Greg and Greg started laughing. _That a boy Sanders._

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Don't worry about Hodges: Mandy, Wendy and Jacqui threatened to kill him if he said anything," whispered Archie when he noticed the worried look on Greg's face. Greg started laughing and Nick saw that Greg's mother looked ready to strangle her only child and Jenna just looked confused.

"I'll tell you later," muttered Greg and Jenna looked like she was gonna start laughing. The preacher looked annoyed at the couple and started speaking again.

"The left hand is the hand of the heart and we come together today to watch you join your hands in marriage. Marriage is not just about what happens here today, it is what will happen the rest of your lives. You two are asking for a life time of commitment and understanding from each other. You will each give a piece of yourselves to each other and carry that with you from this day forward. I would like to read the piece the couple selected for today that expresses what they will be asking of each other.

_"Still," Morrie said, "there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike._"

_That's why things got so screwed up between me and Tatum, I didn't respect her and I couldn't talk openly with her and now,_ his eyes wandered over to the back of the chapel where Tatum was sitting with another guy, even Nick had to admit the guy was good looking. He was tall, blond hair and blue eyes. At the same time Nick wanted to take him outside and beat his ass for having his arm around Tatum like that. _I had my chance and I blew it._

"Greg, do you take Jenna to be your lawful wedded wife? Do you promise to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her for has long as you both shall live?" Greg had zoned out and Archie elbowed him in the back.

"Oh yeah totally," answered Greg and Jenna started laughing and his mother looked like she wanted to kill him. "I mean I do." The preacher just looked at them and turned to Jenna. _They really do love each other, they make each other happy…Tatum made me happy, was she happy? Even in that brief time we had did I make her happy?_

"Jenna, do you take Greg to be your lawful wedded husband? Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him for has long as you both shall live?"

"I do," said Jenna. They were grinning at each other and didn't realize the preacher was speaking to them again.

"Do you have the rings?"

"What?" they asked him and people started to laugh. _Oh my god these two are just comical. _

"The rings?" Archie elbowed him in the back again and handed him the rings.

"Dude get it together," hissed Archie. Greg took the rings from him and he handed Jenna his ring and they looked back at the preacher and exchanged rings.

"I understood that the couple wanted to say something to each other. Who would like to go first?"

"You want me to go first?" Jenna asked quietly.

"If you could that would be great," whispered Greg.

"Well I really tried to come up with something to say and I really couldn't find what to say to tell you how happy you really make me, about how much I love you. So you are just gonna have to take what Ingrid Michaelson said about love." Jenna took a deep breath and started singing.

_If you were falling, then I would catch you.  
You need a light, I'd find a match.  
Cuz I love the way you say good morning.  
And you take me the way I am._

If you are chilly, here take my sweater.  
Your head is aching, I'll make it better.  
Cuz I love the way you call me baby.  
And you take me the way I am.

I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair.  
Sew on patches to all you tear.

Cuz I love you more than I could ever promise.  
And you take me the way I am.  
You take me the way I am.  
You take me the way I am.

"I get the sweater song?" teased Greg when she was finished.

"Well what do you have to say Sanders?" asked Jenna. Greg froze up and Nick realize it was only with Jenna that he was this way with, that he allowed himself to be quite, to let his guard down. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she said quietly. Greg took a deep breath and started talking.

"I love you and you don't know how happy you make me. You've given me a home, a family, something to get up for in the morning. I know that things between us haven't always been easy and that I've hurt you in the past but I promise to make up for that and to try to make you as happy as you've made me." _At least Greg's willing to admit that he's a screw up and that they're willing to give each other second chance._

Jenna's smile got even bigger and she just shook her head and looked back at the preacher.

"By the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Jenna had to stand on the tips of her toes and Greg had to bend down so they could kiss but it was by far the cutest thing Nick had ever seen. _Way to go Greggo._ Greg and Jenna didn't seem to notice that they were holding up the wedding by standing their and staring at each other.

"You two wanna walk and talk downstairs to reception, I'm starving," muttered Ofilia. Jenna and Greg went over and collected the sleeping Katie from the babysitter and led the wedding downstairs.

"You're mom is so gonna kill you for laughing in the middle of the ceremony," giggled Jenna.

"If she wants more grandkids she won't," said Greg.

"It was so cute," said Karen.

"You know that is going in the lab's newsletter," said Nick.

"You wouldn't," protested Greg.

"It's fair play for when you showed everyone that newsletter about me," said Nick. They sat down at the head table and dinner was served. Nick started eating and than he saw Tatum and her date take a seat with some other guys from PD and he noticed that she was starting to show, not much but enough to let it be known it wasn't just fat. _She has my baby…even Drops admitted when you get them pregnant you take care of it. I need to talk to her…tell her I'm sorry. I need to make this right between us somehow._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Wow that was cool," said Alec watching Greg and Jenna finish their wedding tango.

"I never thought that Sanders had rhythm. He's such a white boy," joked Tatum.

"Us white boys have rhythm," protested Alec. Tatum rolled her eyes.

"Sure you do. The only guys I ever met to have rhythm took dance with me back in the day."

"You took dance? Tatum Fritz who can pound a guy took dance," mocked Alec.

"Started when I was four until I was eighteen. I just got back into before I…got my parasite." Alec rolled his eyes.

"You know it freaked the hell out me when you first told me that."

"Oh that I had a parasite, that it was a special parasite that women get and we grow attached to them and name it and dress up in little clothes and set up play dates for them." Alec started laughing.

"You are no longer allowed to watch House. I was sorry I asked you to dinner that night. So you wanna dance. My tango is nowhere near the Sanders but I like to think I do a good job."

"If you dip me and I fall I will kick your ass."

"I would expect nothing less from you," said Alec getting up and taking Tatum to the dance floor.

"It was really nice of you to come. I owe you," said Tatum.

"Hey what are partners for," said Alec. She let him take the lead and was more than a bit shocked that Alec could dance. _Not bad for a white boy, not bad at all._

_Lovin' might be a mistake  
But it's worth making  
Don't let some hell bent heart  
Leave you bitter  
When you come close to selling out  
Reconsider  
Give the heavens above  
More than just a passing glance_

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance  
I hope you dance

"So when do the lab rats start dancing?" asked Alec.

"Give them another hour to get really trashed and break out the Baby Got Back and it's a party."

"To think all the years I ditched the LVPD Christmas party I missed the greatest show in all of Vegas."

"It's better than Cirque and free," said Tatum. She looked at Alec and smiled. _I really like this, it's not awkward, it's straight forward and I don't have to guess what the hell you want. Maybe…maybe I should take a step. The worse that can happen is he says no._ She looked over Alec's shoulder and saw Nick looking at her like she was breaking his heart. _You broke mine first buddy, karma sucks doesn't it._

……………………………………………………………………………………………

It hurt, it hurt more than he ever thought it possible. She looked happy, she looked really happy. He had heard from the other guys in PD that she was doing really well in Y&F despite being handed some really tough cases early on and was part of team doing an ongoing investigation about a child porn ring. _She's doing a really, really good job, you should be proud of her,_ thought Nick. _She would be proud of you if the shoe was on the other foot._

Part of him had hoped she would fall on her ass and come back to the lab. It was selfish of him to think that, but at the same time he wanted her to come back. _Sara's gone, Warrick's gone, and Tatum's gone_…_guess no one ever comes back._ He watched her sit back down with her date and start talking to some of the lab rats. _I miss her._ He didn't think he would ever miss someone who was still living this much. He watched her with the guy she had brought to the wedding and wanted to kick his ass.

He had nothing to do with what happened between him and Tatum, but it was the fact he was getting a chance at something he could have had if he hadn't been such a dumbass. Nick saw her date answer a phone call and say something to her. He picked up his jacket and waved good bye. Tatum was at the table by herself and he really needed to talk to her about everything. _This could be your one chance to fix this…does it really need fixed, just look at her man._ She looked happy; she had this glow about her. He saw her turn to talk to Jacqui and he saw the bump. His grip tighten on the glass he was holding. _She has something that also belongs to me and she has to know I didn't mean for this to happen._

"Tatum, can we talk?" He came up to her alone at the table and she looked up at him and sighed in defeat.

"Fine outside than, we're not going to cause a scene on their day," she nodded her head in Greg and Jenna's direction. Nick looked over at the couple who couldn't be happier at this moment.

"Right." She stood up and grabbed her jacket. Nick followed her outside till they were in front of the Bellagio fountains. She leaned against the railing and crossed her arms across her chest.

"So talk," said Tatum. Nick sighed, he didn't know what to say, he couldn't get a thought in his head to stay looking at her. Up close she didn't look happy at all or maybe it was just being near him that did it.

"Why didn't you tell me," he blurted it out before he could even think. It had been bugging him that he had to find out second hand from Ronnie and Henry that she was pregnant.

"It wouldn't change anything."

"What wouldn't change?" asked Nick.

"This, us…I wanted to talk to you when I found out and you shut me out. You didn't care about me till you found out I was leaving. I left and soon everyone found out and everyone called or got a hold of me somehow…everyone but you." _She put the ball in your court and you didn't do a damn thing. _

"Well it's a shock to the system," said Nick even though he knew it was a poor excuse. Tatum just shook her head.

"You didn't want to talk to me because…just forget it," she went to walk away and Nick stopped her.

"Look Tate…I need to make this right between us somehow." She took a step back and scoffed.

"What would make this right? You wanna take care of me, my baby, someday have the wedding and the house with the picket fence? Would that make this right?"

"Yeah." _I wanna be with you doesn't that make it right?_ She turned around and looked at the artificial lake and shook her head. _It's too late, I was an idiot to think I mattered to you,_ thought Tatum.

"No it doesn't." she turned around and she seemed near tears. "I really did like you, I let you know things about me that I haven't told anyone, I trusted you for some unknown reason and the only reason you're saying what you're saying now is because you feel some sort of male urge to take care of me, you 'need' to make it right you don't 'want' to." _If he cared he would want to this, not make it sound like it's a job. _

"Tate just hear me out," he took a step towards and she took a step back. It was more than a physical step away, she was mentally and emotionally trying to distance herself from him and it hurt more than anything he ever imagine something hurting.

"You…you don't really care about me. Not at all. If you did, even a little you wouldn't have acted the way you did afterward, you would have gotten a hold of when you found out, you would want to, not need to. I'm not gonna make you do something you don't want. It's not fair to me, or you, or it." _I don't want the life my parents had, they weren't happy, they only stayed together so long because of me, I want my baby to be happy,_ thought Tatum.

Nick felt hallow inside, she was right though. He was still hurting over losing Warrick, he was focused only on his work right now. He felt guilty being with Tatum, she made him laugh, she made him forget how he let his friend down. He didn't know what he wanted anymore, he missed her and yet at the same time he wasn't sure if he could be there for her the way she deserved. Tatum was very wrong about one thing though.

"I care about you Tate, I'm just not in a good place right now. I'm sorry." She wiped the tears quickly from her face.

"Not your fault, I'm sorry you're not who I thought you were and I'm sorry that I let myself fall for you," She walked away towards the parking garage. He let her go, fought that urge to run after, get down on his knees and beg her to really hear him out, to wait for him.

"I'm sorry too," he muttered quietly and he head back inside to the wedding.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tatum got in her car, shut the door and started to cry. She hadn't let herself cry over any man in years. She wiped her eyes quickly, _Not gonna start crying over them now._ She drove herself home and changed into a pair of pajamas and made herself a cup of tea. She was about to go to bed when her cell phone rang.

"Hello."

"So since you had the night off, I got stuck with a four hundred pound crack addict trying to sell her baby for drugs. Nice huh," said Alec. Tatum laughed.

"I'm sorry…hey Alec is that dinner invite still open or did I blow it with the parasite jokes?"

"Um…it's still open if you want it to be open."

"Listen Alec, I'm telling you this now for your own good. I'm messed up, I'm damaged goods, I'm crazy and I have a whole slew of issues that shouldn't be touched with a pole…"

"Are you trying to talk me out of it?" asked Alec.

"I like you and I don't want whatever this is to get messed up. I want everything out in the open between us," said Tatum.

"Well I've been kind of in to you since day one and I saw you take down a guy twice your size, but I wasn't sure if you were into me so when do you want to do dinner and we'll get everything in the open," said Alec

"How's tomorrow work for you?"

"Good for me." They said good bye and Tatum sort of grinned to herself. _New job, new start, clean slate._ She looked down at the growing bump. "We're gonna be alright, everything is going to be fine." _I promise._

Notes-Nick and Jenna had their chat in another fanfic of mine called I'll hold your hand while you walk through hell.

The Sanders wedding took place in the follow up to that.

Songs-Ingrid Michaelson-The way I am

Lee Ann Womack- I hope you dance

Both songs can be found on my Youtube playlist and yes the link should finally work on my profile page.

Reviews?


	8. Revenge

Revenge

October 2008

Grissom walked down to the basement of lab and went up to the file clerk. The clerk looked up at Grissom from his half doze.

"Can I help you?" asked the clerk.

"Yes, I want the evidence from case number 05210836-Unsolved Homicide Warrick Brown," said Grissom. The clerk gave him a look and than went in the back and Grissom found himself getting annoyed, something he rarely felt but he had been waiting months for this and his patience was stretched very thin. The clerk came back with the box and handed Grissom a slip.

"Sign here please." Grissom scrawled his name on the slip and took the box. He reached into his pocket, grabbed his cell phone and called Catherine.

"Willows," she answered.

"Get the team, get a layout room and make sure no one knows what we're doing." He heard Catherine draw in a sharp breath.

"You mean…"

"Six months to the day. Get the team." Grissom hung up his phone and took the stairs back up. _I've worked dozen of scenes over the years, countless victims, countless families and I've helped them all in someway. Now it's my turn._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So you're really gonna be published?" asked Riley. Greg looked over at the newest CSI and grinned.

"Jenna is faxing the signed contract into Doubleday tomorrow morning," said Greg. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah rub it in man," said Nick.

"Hey I worked really hard on the book and Jenna worked really hard making sure I didn't get screw over," said Greg.

"Just don't let it go to your head," said Riley. Catherine poked her head into the locker room looking frantic.

"Layout room six. Now!" ordered Catherine and she was gone before they could ask questions.

"Think she wants us?" asked Greg. Nick shrugged and shut his locker.

"Maybe it's a congratulations party for you. I heard Hodges like to throw parties without warning," said Riley.

"Let's go see what she wants," said Nick. They headed down to the lay room out and found the door shut and the blinds drawn. _Ok that's a bit odd._ They walked into the layout room and Nick was shocked to see what Grissom and Catherine had up on the walls and on the table. _Warrick's case._

"Shut the door," said Grissom calmly. They shut the door and gathered around the table.

"What's going on?" asked Riley.

"Six months ago, a member of our team Warrick Brown was gunned down in an alley. The case was originally given to swing shift, but was pulled from them and given to dayshift and the case went cold," said Catherine sadly.

"And cold cases can be touched by anyone. It's busy work," said Grissom pulling out a tape recorder and a tape. Nick realized that this had been Grissom's plan all along and that he should have trusted his boss. _Should have known he wouldn't let it go._

"So why all the cloak and dagger?" asked Riley.

"This is why," said Grissom sliding a tape into the recorder and hitting play. _Tatum's case notes._

"_This is CSI Fritz, today is May 21st 2008 about eleven am. Victim is Warrick Brown, a CSI with the LVDP. Starting the investigation with Brown's car that was found running in the alley of Merkee cross street Walden. According to responding officers. Brown's car was found running, passenger window down and passenger door open. Officer reports say passenger door was opened by Dr. Gilbert Grissom, night shift supervisor who was near Merkee and heard the shots." _

"_Brown's driver side window was shot out, not the passenger window. When we first brought the car in, a gun was collected from the passenger side, a .25. That gun is being tested for DNA and prints. Brown's service pistol is a 9 mm and was not found with him, it is still in LVPD evidence with the Lou Gedda homicide. Test at the crime scene show the shooter leaned in and fired at Brown, GSR was found around the window and on the roof on the passenger side." _

"_Radio is turned down low, very low, almost can't hear it. Ok, window rolled down, smudges on glass…Brown rolled the window. Why? These smudges look like knuckle prints…um…someone knocked on Brown's window; he turned the radio down and opened the window. To talk to someone. Brown knew his shooter, this was an inside job."_

Nick could hear it in her voice, a hint of fear and he didn't blame her one bit. _She still fought for the case though when it was pulled from her. Lady has some serious balls._

"Warrick had been framed for the murder of a mobster Lou Gedda and we proved that the department had a mole, but Warrick believed that the department had a mole higher up that the officer that framed him. And if you knew Warrick that thought would scare you," said Grissom.

"He wasn't going to let it go," said Riley. Grissom nodded. Greg looked at the evidence in front of them.

"This is everything that Tatum and Ronnie collected?" asked Greg.

"Their case notes, photos, reports. Everything before they were pulled," said Catherine.

"Warrick was right about Gedda and he was right about the department. We need to finish this for him," said Nick.

"Why aren't the CSI from swing here? They started this and if we need to ask them something about their notes shouldn't they be here?" asked Riley.

"Tatum Fritz went to Y&F in July and she's almost five months pregnant and doesn't need this sort of stress," said Catherine giving Nick a glance which wasn't missed by Greg. "Ronnie is covering some of our cases tonight so we can do this without distraction." Riley nodded and grabbed a DNA report.

"Let's do this than." Nick grabbed the report from ballistics and started reading. _We're gonna do this for you man and whoever did this is going to be sorry._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So we have no DNA or prints and the gun was from a robbery that Pritchard handled. But the log says it was destroyed," said Greg.

"Why would he use a gun that could be tied to him?" asked Catherine.

"He didn't care, he knew he was gonna skip town anyway," said Nick sitting the report aside. Grissom was looking hopeless lost.

"Warrick wouldn't roll down his window for Pritchard. Someone is framing Pritchard…Tatum and Ronnie had that figured out," said Grissom handing Catherine Tatum and Ronnie's last minute notes before they got pulled.

"Why didn't days jump on that?" asked Nick feeling the urge to go smack the dayshift CSI.

"Archie said that when Tatum and Ronnie tried to go over their case notes with the dayshift. McKeen practically threw them out, said that they could figure it out themselves and than they weren't allowed to talk to Tatum or Ronnie if they had any questions," said Greg. The wheels in Nick's head start to turn, _McKeen pulled them off the case, wouldn't let us on the case, was he scared we would find something?_

"McKeen," said Nick out loud.

"What?" asked Catherine.

"Why was McKeen so intent on controlling everything with this case? What was he worried about?" asked Nick.

"The Undersherriff is higher than a beat cop," said Riley. Grissom shook his head and looked around at what was on the table. He looked and Nick could see the wheels turning in his head.

"I thought we didn't have any prints," said Grissom. Greg flipped through a copy of his report from Tatum and Ronnie.

"Dayshift morons! One partial print from the bullets-no match according to days, but Tatum and Ronnie didn't get to do any compassion according to their notes…other than it didn't match Pritchard," said Greg shocked.

"Get Mandy down here quickly and quietly with a print scanner now," ordered Grissom. Riley went to get Mandy and Grissom dug out his cell phone.

"Jim…I need to talk to you. Layout room six. Tell no one."

"The log was messed with about the gun being destroyed. Someone higher up than Pritchard had to do that," said Catherine. Brass came into the room and looked at them and the evidence on the table.

"You aren't supposed to have any of this," said Brass.

"It's a cold case, anyone can have it," said Grissom. Brass sat down and studied the evidence.

"What do you have?" asked Brass. Grissom started to explain to Brass what they had found and the thoughts about McKeen's unusual interest in this case. Brass sighed and looked at the team.

"You know I haven't thought about his for awhile…but when I first came to Vegas about twenty years ago. Jeff McKeen was a detective than and he invited a bunch of the new guys out to this cabin in Mount Charleston for steaks and beer, a getting to you know type thing. And it was a nice place, not too nice for detective pay, but nice. But my gut is telling me that in New Jersey guys took more than they gave and it could be the same deal here. And they knew how to do it and not get caught and McKeen is sniffing around me telling me that Vegas is a great place, this is great place to get my career going. And I let him know, without busting his balls that I wasn't in the game. I wasn't for sale. It was a good thing that I took a look around that cabin because I wasn't invited again after that. No more steak for me," said Brass.

"When I told Warrick that Pritchard had framed him he said Gedda's mole had to be higher on the food chain. If I were McKeen I worry that Warrick would never let it go," said Grissom.

"Interview cameras were on, if McKeen saw it he had reason to worry," said Nick. _That slick handed bastard!_

"Ok let's say that McKeen saw the interview tapes, Warrick got released and had breakfast with you guys and was killed what an hour maybe an hour an after he was released. Is that enough time to frame Pritchard?" asked Brass.

"If I was Pritchard I want the hell out of Vegas after killing Gedda," said Catherine.

"No one has seen him in six months though and nothing in his bank accounts, credit cards, nothing to show him on the radar," said Greg.

"Maybe someone is hiding him until the heat died down," said Nick.

"Or he's dead," said Catherine.

"Hiding him till the heat died down would be easier than killing him and giving us another scene and another chance to connect him with anything," said Grissom.

"So Pritchard is alive and somewhere in Vegas still?" asked Nick. _Right under our god damn noses._ Riley came back into the layout with Mandy, a portable print scanner and a lap top.

"Am I in trouble?" asked Mandy looking around worried.

"Not at all." Grissom held up the print. "Did you do a compassion for Tatum and Ronnie?"

"Sort of…She asked me to compare it to Pritchard and it didn't match. Than McKeen, Ecklie and Ryan wanted to talk to her. She asked me to take the print to Ronnie to document and than when they got pulled I thought the tech from days ran it because I didn't see it again." Mandy's eyes got wide. "No one ran it did they?"

"No they didn't. I need you to run it and tell anyone, not even Archie that you did this," said Grissom. Mandy nodded and got the scanner set up.

"When I printed this for Tatum I told her it would be a bitch but she just said 'Bitches get shit done.'"

"Sounds like Tatum," said Nick. _She was getting it done._ Mandy took the print and placed it in the scanner and scanned it.

"Run it against Jeff McKeen," said Grissom and Mandy's face went white. "Please." She nodded gravely and pulled up McKeen's print record.

"Ok, starting with thumb on the right hand." She connected the dots from the unknown to the known and hit enter. It matched and Mandy almost fell off her stool.

"He killed Warrick," said Mandy.

"Warrick was right. All along he was right," said Catherine. Grissom looked at Brass and than to Nick and Greg.

"McKeen isn't here today anyone else find that odd?" asked Grissom.

"The case is cold and no one is looking for Pritchard…what better time to get rid of Pritchard than now," said Greg.

"The prints on the bullets could get us a warrant, but McKeen is so tied in to the department getting a warrant is going to be hard. We may need something else."

"Did anyone check the guy's cell phone records?" asked Riley.

"Not according to the reports," said Catherine.

"Let's go talk to Archie than," said Nick. Nick went to leave them room and Grissom called out to him.

"Keep it quite, no one knows. Not even Ecklie." Nick left the lay out room and went into AV and shut the door.

"Archie I need you to look up the phone records for Jeff McKeen for the day of May 21st." Archie's eyes got wide.

"The Undersherriff?" Nick nodded. Archie sat down and quickly pulled up the records.

"Get rid of any that are work related and focus only on the incoming calls," said Nick. Archie nodded and got rid of over half the numbers and that left only one that came in four times. "Do a reverse look up." Archie did and pulled up a hotel number.

"Whiskey Bend Hotel. Just outside of Clark County," said Archie.

"No one would look for you there," said Nick. Archie printed out the records for him and handed them over. "This stays quite for now…alright." Archie nodded and went back to work. Nick went back to the layout room and showed them the records.

"Someone wanted to talk to him bad," said Riley.

"I'm going to Ecklie, Brass is getting a warrant from the only judge he knows that hates McKeen. You and Greg get over to Whiskey Bend Hotel with Brass, Catherine and Riley start with McKeen's office and home. He'll never see it coming," said Grissom leaving the layout room with all the reports in his hands.

"Got the warrant," Brass handed a copy to Catherine and Riley and one to Nick and Greg. "He's not at home and he's not here. So let's do this fast." _Don't need to be told twice, I've waited six months for this day,_ thought Nick.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"The manager recognized McKeen, says he's been here at least twice a week for the past six months. Got the place for a friend and has been paying in cash," said Brass leading them to the room with three other officers. The room was cleared and Brass let Nick and Greg in and the room looked very lived in.

"Towels are still wet," said Nick.

"Ice in the glass hasn't melted yet," said Greg. Nick threw the towel down.

"We just missed them," snapped Nick. Greg started printing the glasses and scanned them quickly.

"Prints on this glass are Pritchard and this set here is McKeen."

"Mexico is only a few hours from here…but to avoid getting caught he waited to the case was officially cold," said Brass.

"Too bad he didn't count on us picking it up," said Nick. Brass looked at Nick.

"Because he's an idiot with no idea what family means. Pritchard is the problem solver for McKeen and McKeen knew that Pritchard could turn on him and so they had to play it cool for awhile."

"But with McKeen killing Warrick, he still needs a fall guy," said Nick.

"So Pritchard is either already dead or about to be there," said Greg. His phone went off and Greg quickly read the text. "Archie is ready to start tracking when you are." Brass picked up the phone and called McKeen.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"McKeen," he answered the phone and ignored the sigh from Pritchard in the next seat.

"We found an unknown DB that matches Pritchard description," said Brass. _Something isn't right, but I would know if there was anything going on,_ thought McKeen.

"Good that's good. I hope it is him and we could close the case," said McKeen.

"You're breaking up. Are you in a car?"

"Just going for a drive down to Lake Mead. One last day of good weather may as well use the boat one last time."

"That's nice. We may need you to come in though later on and give the press a statement and tell us how you would like to handle the investigation," said Brass.

"I'll be in tomorrow, just wait for me alright," said McKeen.

"Yes sir," said Brass and he hung up. Pritchard looked at him.

"What the hell was that about?"

"None of your damn business just shut up and enjoy the ride to Mexico." Pritchard looked at him and pulled a gun he had hidden in the hotel room.

"You gonna shoot me doing eighty miles an hour with an empty gun?" asked McKeen. Pritchard looked at the gun and checked the weapon, it had been emptied.

"I just want out this god damn mess you made for me," snapped Pritchard.

"It will be over soon enough Danny-boy. Just relax."

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

"Archie has him, east on highway 161," said Greg.

"Let's get him than," said Nick and he and Brass got in the squad car and headed out. Greg got on the phone and called in the helicopter guys for them and stayed behind to work the room. The highway wasn't that far from the hotel, Brass and three other squad cars were following.

"Go to radio signal three in case he has his radio on," ordered Brass. He looked over at Nick in the seat next to him and could feel the rage coming from the young man.

"Nick…don't do anything stupid when we catch him." Nick didn't say anything. "Please don't do anything stupid…Warrick wouldn't want to do anything that would…"

"Warrick's not here. Just drive Jim," said Nick. _That bastard was right in front of me, had the balls to talk to me at his funeral…had the balls to come to his funeral knowing he put him in the coffin…oh I will nail his ass to the fucking wall when we get him._ Grissom started talking to them on the radio.

"Ok he either pulled over or threw his cell phone out because you guys should be right on top him. The signal stopped moving," said Grissom. They all slowed down and saw that a car had gone over the embankment and was flipped over. _No you are getting away so easily. _Nick started down the embankment quickly and Brass and the other officers started to follow him. Nick got to the car and saw that Pritchard was dead in the car, his neck broken. _Well someone got off lucky, _thought Nick bitterly. Brass came up behind him. McKeen was not in the car and Nick spotted a gun.

"357 Magnum, McKeen carries a .9 mm," said Brass looking at what Nick found. Nick looked at the driver's side and saw a trail of blood. _He crawled away like the snake he is._ Nick walked away quickly while Brass was on the radio and into the wooded area around them following the blood.

"Nick…Nick this is Brass. Go to channel three and answer me." Nick turned the radio off. _Six months, this son of a bitch kill my best friend and for six months has been in my face this whole time. He killed Warrick for no reason and like a coward, couldn't even face him. He shot him in the neck when he was in his car. He's going to pay for this; he's going to pay dearly! _Nick followed the blood and heard someone struggling to breathe. Nick approached quietly and pulled his weapon out. He saw McKeen lying in the grass struggling to breathe. _Warrick struggled to, trying to breathe, lying in the alley._ McKeen had cuts and scraps from the car crash and Nick noted a gun shot wound to the stomach. _Pritchard must have shot him._ McKeen looked up at Nick like he was his savior.

"Oh Stokes, thank god it's you!" Nick saw the gun near McKeen and kicked it away from him. _Yeah you would be happy to see me; I'm the good one, the straight arrow, the god damn boy scout! _

"I was gonna bring Pritchard in…"

"Shut up," ordered Nick.

"He got the drop on me…he grabbed my weapon, shot me and I lost control." Nick pointed his gun at McKeen.

"I said shut up!" McKeen looked at Nick and gave him a twisted smile.

"You know…you wanna know why? Because Warrick had a big mouth and I needed to shut it." _He's taunting you…you know that._ "I tried to warn him, but he was just too stupid to listen," mocked McKeen. _Don't play into what he wants._

"You know when I shot him he had a big smile on his face when I told him he could keep his job. That I didn't have the heart to fire him," laughed McKeen spitting up more blood.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Nick felt the gun shaking in his hand and the safety was off.

"He was your friend…what kind of friend are you? SHOOT ME YOU SON OF BITCH!" screamed McKeen.

_Look what's he's cost you, he killed Warrick…killed your best friend. You became so consumed by that you lost someone else…you lost Tatum...you were falling hard and fast for her and she's not coming back either. Will killing him bring anything you've lost? Will that bring Warrick back…will it bring Tatum back. Is this what you really want?_ _Would they want you to do this? _

Nick aimed near McKeen's head and pulled the trigger. McKeen fell backwards realizing that Nick had missed him on purpose. Brass came out of the woods and towards them.

"Nick?" asked Brass. Nick turned towards Brass and would never forget that look of shock and disappoint in his eyes looking at him with a gun in his hands. Nick lowered his weapon and looked at McKeen on the ground who was still alive and glaring at him.

"He has a gunshot wound to the stomach and he's lost a lot of blood. You should get the med-vac here fast."

"What was that shot?" asked Brass.

"A miss," said Nick walking away. _I want to live and I want you to suffer everyday in a jail cell with people you looked down on when you were no better than them._

"Jeff McKeen you are under the arrest for Warrick Brown." Nick heard Brass reading him his rights. _I wanted to though…I really wanted to._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So did you have a good time?" asked Alec. Tatum took his hand and put her head on his shoulder.

"I got to see Maroon 5 and act like a fan girl five rows from the front. It was fun." They had been seeing each other for about a month and so far it wasn't so bad. It was still on the sly from the other people in the department but that was half the fun really. She got out of Alec's car and he walked her to the front door.

"I'm a big girl you know. I can walk myself to the door," teased Tatum.

"Well you never know what could happen that ten foot walk to the door." They got the front door and Tatum picked up a thing of roses from her stoop.

"You found time to do this when?" she asked. Alec shook his head.

"I didn't get you those. You seeing other guys behind my back?" Tatum rolled her eyes.

"I work twelve hour days, I'm five months along and have you to keep entertained. I don't have time for other boys." Alec pulled out a card.

"'Thank you'…well you did something nice for someone lately." He handed her the card and she quickly recognized the handwriting and shoved the card in her purse.

"It's nothing, really. I had a really nice night and um…" _Damn it what's wrong with you it shouldn't be this hard._ Alec bent down and kissed her. _Well that saves me the trouble._

"I'll see you in about ten hours," said Alec.

"Oh yeah…night."

"Good night," said Alec and Tatum went inside and watched Alec drive away. She looked at the card and the roses and was torn about what to do with them. _I can't go back. It hurts too much and why should I go back to him, it's not like we were a couple. It was a fling with some lingering effects._ She felt her baby start to kick her and she rubbed the bump and smiled at it.

"I hope you had fun to tonight. You kicked me the entire time during the encore. Come on time for bed." She threw the flowers in the trash and went to bed.

Nick sat outside in his truck waiting for Tatum to come home and when he saw her with the guy she had brought with her to Greg's wedding he felt something inside really break. _She's really gone…I can't have her back now._ He saw Tatum kissing the other guy and he just fell back into his seat.

_She kissed him and he felt the world just go away. _

_"You really sure about this?" asked Tatum. Nick took her hands and grinned._

_"Yeah I am." He felt skin on skin and he loved the hell out of every second he had her._

He saw her go into her apartment and the other guy take off. Nick sat in his truck and watched the lights go out in her apartment. He turned the truck back on and drove off. _At least she took the flowers._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Miss…I'm sorry to trouble you, but I need to make a phone call and I can't find my cell. Would it be possible to have a land line phone?" The nurse nodded and moved the table and phone closer to him. She left the room and McKeen grinned. The officer watching his door had dozed off and the nurse was just coming on shift and didn't know what he was in for and McKeen dialed a number he knew. The person answered and McKeen started speaking quickly and quietly.

"I need you to do me a favor." McKeen filled him in quickly on what he was to do. "You understand me. Good. He's going to be sorry he didn't shoot me when he had the chance. I want him to suffer." The officer was starting to wake up and McKeen hung up his end quickly and pretended to be sleeping. _Nick Stokes is going to be sorry that he didn't kill me when he had the chance, they're all going to be sorry._

Notes-Episode dialogue and spoilers from-For Warrick

I really was hoping that Nick was going to shoot his ass…I was so pissed when he didn't.


	9. Working the case part 1

Warning-contains mentions of child abuse.

Working the case-part one

November 2008

"Dead hooker from the looks of her," said Vega.

"Or a dead girl that like to party," said Nick taking in the lifeless girl in front of him. She was wearing a short purple skirt and a black tube top with five inch platforms. David was checking the body.

"No ID on her, no cell phone, nothing. Sorry," said David. He rolled her onto her back and even Nick cringed. It looked like someone just beat the hell out her; he thought the mob beating victims were bad this was worse than that. Couldn't even tell her hair color from the blood in her hair, her eyes were swollen shut and her face was just a mess.

"Getting an id is gonna be hell. I think whoever did this bashed all her teeth in," said Nick looking at her. "If she's not in the system DNA is gonna be worthless." David put the body on a stretcher and took her back to the lab.

"I think this was just a dump site someone would have heard her screaming if she was killed her. She was a beat and toss," said Nick. Vega nodded.

"I'm gonna start questioning the alley folks who live here, see if anyone remembers a body dump last night." Vega went off and Nick studied the pool of blood and sighed. _Gonna be a long day everything always falls on the end of shift._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So what do have?" asked Nick coming into the morgue after spending three hours collecting everything he could find in the alley. The girl laid on the table looking slightly better than Nick had found her in. She was cleaned up and Nick discovered they had a dark haired girl with brown eyes.

"You have a teenage girl on your hands. From what teeth she had left she didn't have her wisdom teeth yet, but she still has some her baby teeth," said Dr. Robbins showing Nick the inside of the girl's mouth.

"Rape kit?" asked Nick dreading the answer.

"Sent up to DNA and I sent a sample of Jane Doe 2585 up there too. But from the looks of her basic exam, this girl was seriously abused sexually and physically, over several years time. Slightly malnourished, tied down at some point in time, tortured, the list just goes on." Nick sighed and studied the poor dead girl on the table. _Maybe she was kidnapped; maybe missing person will have something on her._

"Thanks Doc," said Nick. Robbins looked down sadly at the girl.

"Just so you know Nick, this is by far one of the saddest and cruelest cases of torture and abuse I have seen in a very long time. When you find the animals who did this to the poor girl make sure they go away for a very, very, very long time."

"Gonna try Doc," said Nick leaving the morgue and going back upstairs to the lab.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"How goes your dead girl case?" asked Catherine sitting down for her dinner.

"Stand-still so far. Waiting for everything to come back DNA, trace, prints. I haven't found anything matching her in Missing Persons. So who knows, I'm worried that she may be a missing person who know one misses at all," said Nick sadly.

"So you have Jane Doe 2585. Sometimes that's all we have," said Catherine. Wendy walked into the break room with a report in her hand.

"Your Jane Doe doesn't have a match in missing persons, but she has a sibling match in missing persons. Lucy Chekhov, seven years old and is currently in a group center in Summerlin." Wendy handed the report to Nick and a picture of a little girl who looked horribly sad and lost.

"Why report the little sister and not the older one?" asked Nick.

"She was filed in by Y&F back in August. Come here, I'll show you why," said Wendy and she headed back to her lab. Nick and Catherine-her curiosity piqued followed them. Wendy went into her lab and pulled up Lucy's case file.

"Lucy was a very big film star," said Wendy sadly and she pulled up the photos that made Nick sick to his stomach. _God who does this to a kid at that age?_

"Poor girl," said Catherine.

"So far Y&F have about seven movies with Lucy staring, they were hoping by putting her in system that maybe someone would step forward for her. The report from them also says that Lucy told them she had an older sister, Lana. They were looking for her."

"Well she may be in our morgue right now. Who worked Lucy's case?" asked Nick. Wendy pulled up the report and started wishing she was anywhere but here.

"Tatum Fritz and Alec Norwich filed her in August. They're the detectives on her case which is still open." Wendy handed him the report and Nick took it numbly from her.

"Thanks Wendy," said Nick and he left the lab. Wendy frowned.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Wendy.

"Not you Wendy. Nick did though. I'll be right back." Catherine left DNA and found that Nick was in the evidence room packing his case. "So you have to work a double. Tatum's on Days at Y&F and this ties into her case."

"I'm gonna have Vega stop by Y&F and…" Catherine cut him off.

"No you are going down to Y&F and you are gonna talk to her about this case. You are going to act in a professional manner with her and you are going to even if I have to drag you down there myself because she deserves at least that much from you consider what she did for us while she was a CSI." Nick looked at Catherine was surprised by the tone she had with him.

"Listen Cat…things between Tatum and I are complicated and…"

"Oh yeah I saw the 'complicated'. Five months along of complicated." Nick looked at her. "I'm not an idiot. You got involved with her, you acted like a jerk with her she takes off to another department because she's knocked up and you ignore her. I never thought you would stoop that low Nicky."

"Alright I was an ass, I made a mistake and I'm sorry."

"Does Tatum know that?" asked Catherine.

"I told her I was and she really didn't seem to care that I was sorry," said Nick.

"You blame her."

"Not really." Nick looked at his case evidence. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Be a man or at least a CSI with a case that needs solved." Catherine walked out of the room and Nick sighed. He looked at his watch and realized that Days didn't start for another seven hours. _May has well get some sleep I'm gonna need it._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hi I'm Nick Stokes with the Crime Lab and I was hoping to talk with your detectives about Lucy Chekhov.'

Nick handed the case to captain of Y&F. Helen Jantez stood up and motion to Nick to follow her. Nick looked around the department and never thought he would wish for the morgue. Y&F was a chaos zone, people crying, being hauled into rooms for questioning screaming the whole way, overwhelming chaos was everywhere.

Nick and Helen stopped in front of one the questioning rooms and Nick noticed a guy in a ripped up tee-shirt handcuffed to chair and was being questioned by a tall guy with shaggy blond hair. He looked in their direction and Nick realized that was the guy he saw Tatum with at Greg's wedding and on her front door.

"You hit your wife in front of dozen of witnesses and cameras watching. Give me a reason not to throw the book at you?" he asked. The guy leaned back in a chair and spit in his face. He wiped the spit off and went over and closed the blinds to the room. He waved at Helen before closing them.

"That guy better not have bruises on him at booking," said Nick even though Nick would probably whoop the cases ass too. Helen let out a mini laugh.

"Welcome to Youth and Family the catch all. Almost everything goes through us at some point in time we deal with rapes, murders, abuse, missing persons, neglect…that wonderful citizen who spit on Detective Norwich was brought in for smacking his wife around at the Golden Nugget, pushed her into a glass cabinet in front of over god knows how many people. She's lucky she only needed a few stitches this time. Last month, she had a broken arm and two broke ribs. Month before that it was her nose. Trust me, my guys are clean here. But if Alec were to hit that scum ball I give him a raise no questions asked."

She took Nick out to an open area with desks and officers taking statements. She pointed out Tatum who was talking with a woman who had a black eye and several stitches on the right side of her face. Tatum looked torn between being annoyed with the woman and sadden by her.

"Tina listen to me, you need to press charges this time. I've only been here a few months and I have seen you more times than I care to count. Broken arm, nose, ribs, black eyes, split lips…now I can only buy falling down the stairs or running into the door so many times. Your neighbors don't buy it when they call the cops after hearing you scream at him to stop it."

"What the hell do you know bitch! He's my husband. We have our problems and sometimes they get out of hand."

"Like they got out of hand at the Gold Nugget today? Witnesses say this started because the waitress at the buffet brought him a diet coke instead of a regular coke. So what he's beating you up now for other people's screw ups?" asked Tatum.

"Go to hell, I'm not pressing charges and you can't keep him here if I don't." The woman stood up and started to leave and Tatum called out to her.

"One of these days Tina I'm going to be seeing in the morgue." The woman stopped in tracks and she looked at Tatum. "Is that what you want?"

"Go to hell you fucking bitch!" She stormed out and Tatum just threw a pencil down.

"Thank you come again," said Tatum sarcastically. She went to put a file aside and Helen went up to Tatum.

"Fun times never stop here. Got someone here from CSI looking for you, he may have something on Lucy's case for you." Nick could see a flash of something in her eyes like hope.

"Really. Where are they?" asked Tatum. Tatum hadn't seen him yet and he came up to her desk.

"Hi Tatum." If she was shocked to see him she kept it hidden well and looked at Helen for an explanation.

"Alec is busy with not killing Tina's husband for us; he has a DB that has a DNA match to Lucy. Think you could bring him up to speed on what's going on around here?"

"Sure." Helen nodded and walked away. Tatum looked up at him and stood up in her chair to face him. He hadn't seen her up close since Greg's wedding and he noticed that she was bigger than the last time he saw her. _God she's almost nothing but bump._ She looked good though, she was wearing black slacks and deep blue sweater with her red hair pulled back into a ponytail. He found himself looking at the bump under her sweater and she caught him looking at the bump and she gave a little shrug.

"Yeah I'm the elephant in the room around here…so you have something about Lucy for me?" asked Tatum. _At least she's talking to you; it's about work but it something._ Nick pulled out the info Wendy had given him.

"We found a young girl in the alleyway off Strip beaten to death. We ran her DNA for an ID and we found a sibling match to Lucy Chekhov." Tatum took the case file from him and flipped to the post mortem photo of the alley girl.

"You may have found Lana Chekhov for us. Damn it…I was really hoping to find her alive for Lucy's sake. She's the only real family Lucy had left. Her mother died before they came here and her father is god knows where." Tatum leaned against her desk and bit her lip.

"Where were they before coming here?" asked Nick. Tatum motion for him to follow her to another room.

"Lucy was from the Ukraine. I found her passport info with some help from INS; she says she came here two years ago with her father and older sister Lana. However no work visas ever came up for her father and no passport. I think he's working illegally either here or god knows where. No school records on Lana or passport for Lana so I was really stuck."

The room they were in was similar to the layout rooms back at the lab, but with windows to the outdoors letting the sun in. Cases photos of Lucy were on the wall along with several other young girls who were being abused.

"Lucy was our way into what we think could be a human trafficking ring. So far we have her and two other girls from overseas, one from Russia and another from Prague. All of them under the age of ten, no parents, no family."

"Isn't this something that Organized Crime or Vice should be helping you guys with?" asked Nick.

"Well at first we thought it was your run of the mill kiddie porno ring going on and than when we had three girls all being abused, from overseas and 'bought' for a lot it turned into something more, but since it's minors, sex abuse and we found it…it's on our door," said Tatum. She looked sadly at Lucy's picture.

"She was making really good process too. This is gonna break her heart." Nick heard the tone in voice, she was attached to the victim and Nick himself had been warned about getting attached to the victims. _I understand._ "She was my first case here at Y&F."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

August 2008

It was like the first day of school and she was the very new kid. Tatum looked around at her new surrounds. Y&F was located on the third floor of PD and was a very large semi open space with desk crammed all over the place and several windows looking outside. _Oh wow sunshine._ Tatum had been working swing during the evening for so long she missed seeing the sunlight. Helen Jantez, her new boss and Captain of Y&F took Tatum over to a desk and sat her down.

"Well here we are, since it's your first day here and your partner is out right now I'll just have you start looking over some of our backlog paper work."

"Cool." Helen went away and Tatum was tempted to twirl in her chair. _Its weird having a desk…haven't had one since I was temping in college._ She looked around and tried to get used to the difference between here and the lab. It was loud for one thing and no one was still. It was noise, movement and chaos. _Well at least people are still alive here...I like here already._ She looked towards the back of the room where a short, fat white guy with stringy hair was being hauled in by another detective in a black suit and shaggy blond hair.

"I didn't do a damn thing wrong! I don't care what that little bitch tells you or what you find! I didn't do anything to her!" protested the fat guy.

"Yeah she photo-shopped those pictures we found you uploading to all your freak friends. Not bad for a girl living in a closet scared out of her mind!" snapped the detective. Before the detective could do anything, fatty ducked down and twisted away and started running for the front of the office for away out.

"Someone stop him!" cried the detective. Fatty was coming towards her and without thinking about it Tatum stuck her foot out and tripped him. She got up quickly and put her foot down on his neck.

"I weight about one hundred and forty five pounds and if I put all my weight down on your spine you will never move again. So don't move." He grunted and squirmed and Tatum pressed down a little and the guy stayed still. The detective he got away from came up to him and hauled the guy back up.

"You are just having a really shitty day aren't you?" he turned and gave Tatum a nod. "Thanks. Let me get this scum to questioning and I'll be back."

"I'm gonna have your badge when my lawyer gets here you bitch!" snapped the fat guy.

"You tell him a Jewish girl from Utah kicked your ass on her first day here and see how that works out for you," said Tatum sitting down. Helen came back to the floor and looked at the mess like it was an everyday thing.

"Alec get him to questioning and say hello to your new partner when you're done."

"Aye, aye captain," said Alec and he started dragging the guy back to questioning again. Helen sat down a stack of paper work.

"Just skim over them, typos, missing info, the basic stuff."

"Nice to know that no matter where you go there is paper work," said Tatum.

"I think I like you already. Welcome to the place that normalcy forgot," Helen left and Tatum grabbed a file off the stack and started skimming it.

"You worked in Vice?" she looked up and Alec was sitting on her desk

"No."

"Homicide?"  
"Nope."

"Undercover?"

"Not in this life," said Tatum.

"Have you interviewed victims before?" asked Alec.

"Uh yes."

"Good with kids?"

"I like to think so.' Alec looked relieved.

"Great, follow me."

"Um…where?" asked Tatum.

"I have a female victim that can't be older than nine who won't talk to me or anyone else with a penis. Since this is my case and you're now my new partner I really could use the help. She was found living in a closet with the scumbag you so lovingly manhandled." Alec motioned for her to follow him. "We busted him uploading pics of closet girl to a site that is now closed. Neighbors called us when they noticed a girl being taken in and out of the house at odd hours but not going to school or see in the daytime."

"God bless the nosy neighbor. Wait…closet girl?" asked Tatum.

"I can't even get a name out of her. We had to trick her to get her out of her hole. Scum bag won't give us her name either. Just calls her little bitch and that doesn't help me at all. Here we are." She had followed him to the victim area that looked like a playroom with toys, books and a TV with stacks of movies. A lone little girl sat at a table with pale skin and long black hair wearing a large LVPD sweatshirt and some black dress socks. Tatum looked at the girl and than back at Alec. _Odd clothing combo._

"Who dressed her?"

"She was naked when we found her and it was anything we could find. Look I hate to throw you in the water like this but she's not talking to me and I need to get something out of her."

"I can try," said Tatum. _Oh god what have I gotten myself into?_

"Just try for a name at least so we can see if she's in missing persons," said Alec.

"Ok." He walked away and Tatum made herself go into the horribly cheerful room.

"Hi sweetie." The little girl looked up and than back down quickly. "So…come here often?" _Oh that was bad Tatum…real bad._ Tatum sat down next to the little girl and she quickly scooted away.

"My name is Tatum, what's your name?" The little girl just looked up at Tatum and than back down to the table. _Oh this is going well. My first day here and I'm already drowning._ Tatum looked around the room and spotted a coloring book of Strawberry Shortcake and crayons. She picked it up and started coloring.

"You wanna color; it was always my favorite thing to do with my son. I always hated staying in the lines though." Tatum started coloring Blueberry Muffin in. "So this is my first day here and…"

"You have a funny name," said the little girl. Tatum stopped coloring and looked at the girl.

"Really?" _It can talk!_ Tatum also noted the girl had a bit of an accent; she couldn't really place it though.

"Sounds like tater!"

"Well my daddy named me after an actress named Tatum O'Neil and she was a very good actress who used to win awards and now well she's just different. Can I have your name or is it funny too?" asked Tatum. She gave Tatum a look like she was making a very important decision.

"Lucy. Lucy Chekhov." She said after being quite for nearly ten minutes. _Pretty name for a pretty girl._

"Ever hear of a show called 'I Love Lucy'?" Lucy shook her head no. "Way before your time anyway. But the main character Lucy was a really funny lady, strong lady too." Lucy was eyeing the coloring book and Tatum slide it over to her and some crayons. Lucy flipped to a clean page and started to color slowly. _Ok keep her talking…maybe she has family somewhere._

"So do you color like this with your mommy?"

"She died a long time ago," said Lucy with no emotion in her voice. _Well that takes care of that._

"So you and your dad must than?" Lucy's grip tighten on the crayon. "You live with your dad right?" _Only way to figure things out is asking._

"He's not my dad!" snapped Lucy and she started to shake.

"I'm sorry sweetie I didn't know. So can you tell me where your dad is?" Lucy started to calm down and she started to color again.

"I haven't seen him in a long time. Not since we left home."

"Where's home?" asked Tatum.

"Kiev. But we learned English before coming here. Daddy said we had to learn it to fit in. Mine sounds alright doesn't it." _Not bad for a girl who lived in a closet…Kiev…Kiev…why did I flunk geography in high school? Europe…well it helps place the accent at least._

"Your English is very good Lucy and who else had to learn English with you?"

"My sister, Lana." _Oh shit,_ thought Tatum. Alec didn't mention another girl found with Lucy, maybe the creep did something with her.

"Honey where is Lana? Was she living with you? Was she younger than you?"

"Lana was older and I haven't seen her since we went and saw the man at the office."

"Can you tell me about the office sweetie?"

"We got here and daddy didn't have anymore money so we all went to see a man at his office and daddy told us to be good and that he would come back for us in a little bit…he didn't though." Lucy seemed near tears. "The office man said my daddy didn't want me anymore and that I was gonna go live somewhere else and he gave me to…_him._ And I wanted Lana to come with me and she wanted to come with me too but she couldn't. They wouldn't let her. Do you know where she is? I wanna go home!" _If I could take you home honey I would._

"You need to stay with us for just a bit longer."

"Don't…don't make me go back with him please! I'll be good just don't make me go back with him please!" cried Lucy and she grabbed Tatum around the waist and started crying. Tatum felt herself tear up at the sight of poor girl who had gone through who knows what sort of hell. Tatum made Lucy look at her.

"Listen to me sweetie. I promise you that you will never ever have to go with that man ever again! No one is going to hurt you anymore. Cross my heart." Lucy wiped her eyes.

"Hope to die?" asked Lucy.

"Stick a needle in my eye," said Tatum. Lucy wiped her eyes again and looked at Tatum.

"You're nice. Lana would have liked you…I miss her." _And this where the really hard part starts._

"Lucy can you tell what it was like where you were living with the man." Lucy tensed up. "I'm not going to let him you hurt anymore kay. Remember I promised to stick a needle in my eye. I don't make promises I can't keep." Lucy started twisting her hair and biting her lip. _Poor baby girl._

"The office man gave me to him and he took me back to his house and….he…he made me do _things._ I had to take off my clothes and he…I DIDN'T LIKE IT! I asked for my daddy and I told him no and he laughed at me. He wouldn't stop no matter what I did!" Lucy started crying again and clung to Tatum. Tatum started to stroke the young girl's hair.

"Shush. It's gonna be alright, we're gonna get you some help and you're gonna be safe." Someone opened the door and Tatum looked up to see Alec and a CPS worker.

"Hey, um CPS is ready to take her to the hospital to do the exams," said Alec. Lucy was still clinging to Tatum's waist.

"I would like to go with if that's alright," said Tatum. Alec looked at the woman from CPS who nodded.

"I don't have a problem with it," she said. Alec nodded and Tatum turned back to Lucy.

"Wanna get out here for a little bit?" Lucy nodded and she took Tatum's hand and they all headed out.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"They put her in a group home in Summerlin. I think they were talking about putting her up for adoption next year after we go to trial since she was making such good process. She's a tough cookie," said Tatum looking over Nick's case notes about Lana.

"How's Lucy's case been going?" It was a chance to keep her talking to him. He had missed talking to her more than he was willing to admit to anyone out loud.

"Well the douche bag admits he 'purchased' Lucy and we have all the photo and video evidence of Lucy's abuse, not to mention her own testimony. At last check it was over seventy-five counts of child abuse, child pornography, child endangerment, human trafficking, imprisonment of a child and rape of a minor. This guy is going away until doom's day if our new D.A has any say in this."

Tatum leaned back in her chair and handed Nick his file back. He took it from her and sighed.

"I'm gonna have to talk to Lucy," said Nick.

"Why?" asked Tatum her voice taking an edge.

"If this is her sister she maybe the only one who can ID her for real and maybe get some more info about 'office guy'."

Nick's PDA went off and he checked it. Archie had been able to get some camera footage a few blocks away from the crime scene from two days before her death that showed Lana still alive and what looked like her pleading with an older man.

"Plus she may know who this is," said Nick showing Tatum the photo Archie just sent him." Tatum studied it and handed Nick his PDA back.

"I'm not letting you talk to her." Nick felt his temper start to creep in.

"She's a potential lead in a murder case and I need to speak to her."

"She's a child, who until three months ago was living in a closet being sexual assaulted on a daily basis. My concern is for her and her recovery."

"You said it yourself she's a tough kid."

"And this will destroy her," snapped Tatum pointing at Nick's case file.

"This guy who killed Lana could be the guy who sold them out in the first place. Who knows how many more of these girls he has?" asked Nick. Tatum was quite for a long time; Nick knew he had pushed the right buttons when she spoke up.

"You wanna talk to Lucy you do it with me there. It's the only way you're gonna get anything out of her." Tatum stood up and left the room and Nick had to catch up with her. "Hey Captain, tell Alec I'm gonna be out for awhile."

"Sure thing." Tatum picked up some keys for one of PD's sedans and looked back at Nick.

"My case, my rules and I'm driving so step it up please." Nick sighed and followed Tatum and got in the passenger seat of the sedan. They left the lot and Tatum turned on the radio and they started the drive out to Summerlin. It was quite other than the radio.

_You don't want to hurt me  
But see how deep the bullet lies  
Unaware I'm tearing you asunder  
Oh there is thunder in our hearts , baby  
Is there so much hate for the ones we love  
Tell me we both matter don't we  
You ..  
You and me  
You and me, you won't be unhappy_

_And if I only could  
I'd make a deal with god  
And I'd get him to swap our places  
Be running up that road  
Be running up that hill  
Be running up that building_

_If I only could oh..._

"Shit," muttered Tatum and she turned in the parking lot of a McDonalds.

"What?" asked Nick. She parked the car and turned it off.

"I have to use the bathroom before my brain explodes." She got out of the car and Nick watched her go into the restaurant before he started laughing. It was the funniest thing he had seen in awhile. _She made you laugh again._ Nick heard the car door open and Tatum got back in the driver's seat with a bag of McDonalds.

"Better now?" asked Nick.

"I think so." She reached into the bag and pulled out a thing of fries.

"So…how are you and…" Nick gestured at the bump. Tatum stopped eating her fries and looked at Nick. She was surprised at the tone in his voice, it was very sincere and slightly concerned. _Ok…he's being civil. No need to be bitchy, we're going to be working a case together so let's just get along._ She put the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot.

"It's good. Um had an ultrasound a few weeks ago, everything looks good so far. Listen…my doctor was asking for a medical history from the father and I really don't know your medical history so if I give you his number can you get in touch with him and tell him your life story?"

"Sure. Just give me his number. Look Tate, I know things between us went…"

"Shitty," suggested Tatum.

"For lack of a better term yes and I know I haven't been there for you the way I should have been the past few months but I just want you to know that if you need anything else from me just let me know and I'll try," said Nick. Tatum seemed to be taking in what he was saying and was quite for awhile. _God could this be anymore awkward right now._ She nodded finally and he thought he saw a hint of a smile. She sighed and she looked a little nervous before speaking.

"Since were clearing the air between us I just want you to know I sort of started seeing someone. I'm not throwing it in your face or anything, I just wanted you to know." He knew but it didn't change the fact that it still hurt to hear her tell him out loud that she seeing someone. _Her partner of all people._

"It's alright, I mean we're not dating or married right?" asked Nick. _She told you that before you left that night._ "Do you think maybe we could be friends again? I know I was a real jerk and the way I acted was wrong. You have every right to throw my ass out of this car right now and that you have no reason to forgive me at all, but I really am sorry for everything."

Tatum pulled into the parking lot of the group home and they sat there for awhile. Tatum leaned back in the driver's seat and Nick wasn't going to rush her at all thinking over what he said. Tatum was taken aback by how sincere he really sounded about being sorry and wanting to be there. _It's his too and someday it's gonna ask about daddy and what am I gonna tell it. 'Sorry I was a bitch and told your father to go fuck himself after breaking my heart.' _

"Let's try working this case together and see how it goes from there," suggested Tatum offering him her hand to shake. Nick took it and shook it.

"Ok." He slowly let go of her hand and they went inside together.

Song- Running up that hill-by Placebo.


	10. Working the case part 2

Working the case-part two

"She's in here," said an aide showing Nick and Tatum to a room where a bunch of kids were watching Hannah Montana. They had explained what they were there for and after Lucy's therapist cleared them to speak to her they were given an escort around the home.

"Do you think it would be possible to speak with her somewhere private?" asked Nick. He really didn't want to tell a seven year old in front of the other kids that her sister was dead.

"Go down the hall and to the right and you should be in the quite lounge. I'll bring Lucy to you," said the aide. They nodded and headed down the hall until they found the lounge. They had just sat down when the aide came into with Lucy. Nick almost didn't recognize the kid they brought in; unlike the girl in the photo she looked happy and well cared for. Her eyes didn't have that sad and lost look in them.

When Nick heard she was in a group home he didn't have much hope for her, most group homes in the Vegas area were crowded beyond belief and it was really just a holding pen until they could be fostered out. This was one of the best he had seen in a long time. Lucy didn't even notice Nick, but she spotted Tatum right off and ran at her full tilt.

"Tatum!" she hugged Tatum tightly around the waist, well has much of Tatum's waist she could get around.

"Hi honey," said Tatum patting her head. The aide slipped out and Tatum sat down with Lucy. "How are you sweetie?"

"Good. We all got to go to the mall and see Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Brendan threw popcorn at me cause he's a meanie." Tatum grinned at the little girl and went to speak when Lucy poked her in the stomach.

"How's your baby?"

"It kicks me when I wanna go to sleep." Tatum sighed and nodded at Nick. "Lucy I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Nick Stokes; he works with the Crime Lab." Nick squatted down in front of Lucy so he was at her eye level.

"Hi Lucy," he held out his hand and he didn't miss that fleeting look of fear and they way she looked at Tatum for reassurance. _Poor thing._

"It's alright he doesn't bite," said Tatum. Lucy shook his hand quickly and looked back at Tatum.

"It's not visitor's day so why are you here?" asked Lucy. Tatum looked at Nick like he was going to give her a way out than back to Lucy.

"Sweetie I have some bad news…it's about Lana and," Tatum didn't even get to finish her sentence and Lucy's eyes started to water and she shook her head.

"NONONONONO!!!!!" She went to get up and Tatum made her sit down.

"I need you to be a brave girl for just a little bit longer for me please." She nodded at Nick and he pulled out the most decent and cleaned up picture of Lana post mortem he had and gave it to Tatum.

"I need you to look at this and tell me if this is Lana alright?" She gave it to Lucy and let her look it at for a minute and she gave the photo back to Tatum. "Is that Lana sweetie?"

She nodded and she started crying even harder. Nick felt his heart breaking for the little girl he hardly knew. But he had older siblings and could only imagine how much losing one of them would hurt. _Thought losing Warrick sucked._ Tatum was trying to calm the young girl down.

"I am so very sorry Lucy. I know how much you loved her and I'm sorry I didn't find her for you." Lucy wiped her eyes on her sleeve and just hugged on Tatum who stroked the younger girl's hair. "Do you think you can do one more brave girl thing for me?"

"Yeah," she said without any tone in her voice and she had that sad, lost look in her eyes again. Nick pulled out his PDA and showed Lucy the photo of just the man, seeing Lana again would upset her even more.

"Do you know who this man is honey?" asked Nick. Lucy looked at it closely and her eyes got wide and she looked shocked.

"That's my daddy? Did you find him? Is he alive?" Tatum looked at the photo and than back at Lucy trying to see some family resemblance.

"Are you sure this is your daddy?" asked Tatum. Lucy nodded and took the PDA out of Nick's hands and studied it closer.

"This is him…I don't wanna see him though. I don't like him…he left me and Lana." She handed the PDA back to Nick and looked back at Tatum. "Do I have to go back with him if you find him?"

"I'm not sure. We'll talk to Dr. Alford and Miss McGee and see what they say ok? You gonna be alright?" Lucy nodded.

"You gonna be here on Sunday?" asked Lucy.

"Where else would I be? I have to go back to work now, kay. You want me to get Dr. Alford or do you wanna go back with the other kids?" asked Tatum.

"I wanna go back with the other kids for now." Lucy took Tatum's hand and she looked at Nick.

"Thank you for finding Lana."

"Thank you for being such a brave girl," said Nick. He trailed behind the two as they made there way back to the TV room. Tatum patted Lucy on the head.

"Be good till Sunday kay." Lucy nodded and went back into the room. Tatum sighed and without thinking about it Nick put a hand on her back.

"They always seem to take it better than you somehow," said Tatum taking a deep breath

"Let's get out of here ok," said Nick. Tatum nodded and they walked out together, neither one of them noticing how close they were or the car that followed them back to PD.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

They agreed that Tatum needed to fill Alec in on what was going on and that Nick needed some sleep before he worked a triple and that they would meet him at the lab later on that night to figure out where they were going with this case. A few hours of sleep and a shower later Nick was back at the lab. Judy was grinning a bit when Nick stopped by her desk to pick up any messages.

"You looked like the cat that ate the canary. What's going on?" asked Nick.

"Just go into Grissom's office and see," teased Judy answering the phone. Nick rolled his eyes and headed into Grissom's office. Already seated were Tatum, Alec and their boss Captain Jantez. Grissom looked up at Nick and motioned for him to take a seat.

"We seem to have a slightly tangled web here. Your dead girl ties into our human trafficking case. I know Lana is your case; however we've been trying to find her for months. We're trying to figure out who takes what from where now," said Jantez.

"Lana was a minor who was sold and abused sexual and she died as a result of it. Lana's case should be investigated by us," said Alec. Nick looked over at Alec and wanted to pound him for his smug attitude. Tatum didn't say anything but he could see she was thinking about what was best for the case.

"CSI found her and have started the investigation," said Nick. Grissom looked at Tatum.

"Your thoughts," Tatum sighed. _Why do I feel like that baby Solomon was gonna cut in half?_ She and Alec had started the investigation on the girls being trafficked and had been buried in it for months, however Nick had found Lana and was decent enough to bring them into the loop and she knew he wouldn't screw this up.

"Lucy identified a picture of her father being seen with Lana a few nights before her death. The father may have killed her, but he was also the one who sold the girls to be abused. We get him it leads us to the other girls and who sold them to start with. Personally I don't see why we can't all work this together, CSI gets the father for killing her, I want the guy who sold the girls out," said Tatum coolly. Grissom looked at her with a hint of a smile.

"That sounds fair to everyone who's been working their asses off here…Alec could you," started Jantez when Grissom stopped her.

"I think Tatum should be lead on this case." Nick looked at Grissom shocked as did Tatum and Alec. Jantez looked at little surprised but said nothing.

"What?" asked Tatum.

"You have the most experience here. You've worked with both teams and know how everyone works. And from what I've heard the three victims trust you and when it comes time to build the case the victims are going to need someone they can trust." Tatum nodded and shook Grissom's hand.

"Thank you. We'll need to see all of Lana's case evidence before we get started."

"Layout room seven. You remember where it is?" asked Grissom.

"Yeah." She stood up and Alec followed her out. Jantez shook Grissom's hand.

"Good to see you Gil. Hopefully the next time we see each other it will be bringing these assholes in."

"I hope so Helen." She left and Nick reminded sitting trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he was going to be reporting to Tatum on this one.

"Is there a problem?" asked Grissom.

"She's a rookie Griss."

"She was a competent CSI for four years, has proven herself well over at Youth and Family and has been on this investigation for months now. Can you give me a real reason you have a problem?"

"She's pregnant, this could be bad for her health, all the stress," said Nick. Grissom gave him a look that said 'I'm not buying that one at all'

"Either work with her Nicky or step off the case," said Grissom. Nick sighed and headed out of Grissom's office.

……………………………………………………………………………………………....

"Are you pissed?" asked Tatum. Alec sighed and looked over the evidence on the table.

"No…I mean you have worked with both sides and the victims do trust you more than me and well you are pretty than me so when the media comes a calling for interviews you make a nicer picture," joked Alec. He looked around and sighed. "God how did you work in a lab for so long? I've only been here an hour and I'm depressed." She could see what he meant, compared to the floor they took up the lab seemed closed in, dark and cold. It was quite and it wasn't that nice peaceful type of quite, it was funeral home quite. _How did I work here for so long?_ Sometimes the cases she handled now were just as sad but at least the people were still alive, there was still a chance for them unlike those in the morgue.

"You get over it or you start taking happy pills in mass doses," said Tatum looking at the photos of the crime scene.

"Which were you?" asked Alec.

"I left," said Tatum. She looked at the address where Lana's body was found. Alec leaned over her shoulder to study the notes.

"The alley where they found her, according to Vice is where most of the illegals from Europe work when they come here. Mostly on night shift," said Alec. Tatum pulled out the still that the street camera got of Lana and her father. Poor girl looked like she was crying and almost begging. She was holding on to his jacket for dear life and he looked confused and frightened looking at her. _Maybe he didn't recognize her as his daughter._

"Time code is around midnight, if Lana was a working girl and saw her father. Maybe she was begging to go home," said Tatum. Alec took the photo from her and stroked her arm and looked at her concerned.

"You gonna be ok? You're not gonna beat him senseless are you…not that I wouldn't mind…it was kind of hot seeing you beat that guy's ass. Couldn't believe you were a squint after seeing that." Tatum grinned.

"Would you like me to kick your ass, it can be arranged?"

"Don't tease me while we're working, unless you know where the supply closet is." Tatum went to answer when Nick came in and looked at the two of them who were standing a little too close. Alec stepped away and looked at Tatum to take the lead.

"We spoke to Vice and according to them the alley is near a bunch of places were the illegals from Europe work. If the time code is right, he was around their a few nights before Lana was killed. I say we go pick him up and see what he has to say," said Tatum.

"Ok," said Nick. She turned to Alec.

"Do you think you could get everything together so when he bring him in you can grill him?" asked Tatum.

"Will do," Alec picked up the files and headed back to PD. Tatum looked at Nick.

"You ready?" she asked.

"I'm driving this time," said Nick.

"Says you," she jingled the keys and Nick was stunned into silence and had to jog to catch up with Tatum.

……………………………………………………………………………………………....

"That's Ivan, he's over there,' said a manager in the workshop when they came in and showed the picture.

"Thanks," said Tatum and she headed over to his work station. Nick got behind her.

"Wait up alright."

"Don't baby me," said Tatum almost glaring at him She got to Ivan's side. "Ivan Chekhov?' He turned and looked at Tatum, realized she was cop and went to bolt and before Nick could do anything Tatum had pulled out a collapsible nightstick and hit him in the knees bring him down. "Well that answers my question." She pulled out her handcuffs and cuffed him.

"Ivan Chekhov you are under arrest for human trafficking." She read him his rights and handed him over to Nick. "We'll add murder later."

"Murder, I didn't murder anyone!" protest Ivan.

"How about your daughter Lana?" asked Nick. The look on the man's face was of shock and horror.

"Lana…she's dead." He started sobbing and had to be hauled into the car. Nick shut the door and looked at Tatum.

"I will not baby you in the future. I just….forget it. That was kind of cool." Tatum shrugged.

"Always go for the knees," said Tatum. She got in the driver's side and Nick got in. _I just didn't want you to get hurt is all._ _Not bad for a rookie._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I didn't kill my daughter! I loved her!" protested Ivan.

"You loved her so much you sold her into sex slavery along with Lucy who is luckily still alive," snapped Alec. Tatum and Nick were watching the interview from the viewing room. Tatum was looking at Ivan like she wanted to murder him and Nick really couldn't blame her.

"I gave my daughters to a family friend to care for and Lana ran away and Lucy is being well cared for," protested Ivan.

"By the State of Nevada for the past few months yeah. Before that she was living in a closet being raped and abused on daily basis if that's what you call being well cared for," spat Alec.

"He's good," said Nick. His initial annoyance at dealing with him started to disappear Alec was good at his job and they all had to work together for the time being anyway.

"Thanks. His partner retired that's why the position opened up I was lucky." Tatum sipped her water and went back to watching.

"What are you talking about? Lucy is being taken care of, I was told she would have a good home."

"What is she a dog you gave to the pound? She was your daughter and you should have protected her! You should have protected both your daughters and now one of them is dead and trust me if you that prison was gonna suck in the Ukraine, what till you meet the brothers in our prisons," said Alec.

"I didn't kill Lana! She ran away and was hooking. I took her back to where she was supposed to be staying!"

"He took her back to her pimp and he killed for running away," said Tatum sadly.

"We can still get him for selling Lucy and Lana," said Nick.

"I want the pimp and the girls," said Tatum. She got up and went into the interview room.

"Who did you give your daughters too?" asked Tatum. Ivan looked at her blankly. "Do not make me repeat myself!? You thought he was bad, I'm worse. I'm pregnant and pissed off. I want his name now!"

"So you can beat him too?" asked Ivan.

"That was a love tap compared to what Lucy and Lana went through." Tatum opened a file she had in her hand and showed him pictures of Lana when they first found her. "He broke in all her teeth. I'm not sure if that was before or after he raped her." He took the photo and was shaking. She pulled out another photo of Lucy.

"This was from six months ago and that is the least graphic one I have with me. So you tell me how this was any good for her?" He started shaking and he shoved the photos away.

"You are lying to me…he told me that they would be taken care of."

"Who?" asked Alec.

"Demetrius Patrof. I wanted…I wanted to come to America but I only had enough money for one of us so I was told that I could give him the girls and that he would get us here and they would be ok and they would have good homes here in America. They could be adopted no questions asked. I…I trusted him and when I saw Lana I thought she had run away and I took her back…I thought she was lying to me…I…I killed my daughter. Where's Lucy? I want to see my daughter!" Ivan demanded.

"Lucy is in state care she's very angry with you right now and I don't blame her at all," said Tatum.

"Please she's my daughter!"

"It's up to a judge and INS. You're here illegally, Lucy has a passport and you sold her to get here," said Alec. Ivan put his head on the table and started crying. Tatum sighed and left the room. Nick met her in the hallway.

"Will he get her back?" asked Nick

"I don't think so, INS is probably gonna deport him if our DA doesn't hold him for giving Lucy and Lana to a human trafficker. Does the name Demetrius Patrof sound familiar to you?" asked Tatum.

"Still waiting for Lana's rape kit to come back, but DNA is still backlogged."

"The more things change the more things stay the same." Alec came out the room.

"So do we call INS or charge him?" asked Alec.

"That's up to DA to decide…it's almost two in the morning you wanna wake her up?" asked Tatum.

"I guess the same goes for getting a warrant for Demetrius Patrof," said Nick.

"Well Judge Leyon owes me for a midnight run. I'll call him," said Tatum pulling out her cell and going down the hall. Alec looked at Nick.

"Why was she running for Leyon at midnight?" asked Alec.

"He got drunker than a frat boy during pledge week and she had to pick his ass up," Nick recalling the story Tatum had told him over pizza at her place.

"That is drunk," said Alec. "Look I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes earlier. It's just I've been working this for almost six months when my old partner was still here and I was a little leery of giving it up."

"So you're cool with Tatum running the show though?" asked Nick Alec shrugged.

"I was stuck with this case until Tatum came on and got the victims talking. She's really good at what she does. Besides she's my partner, I've taken the lead on cases, she's taken the lead. In the end if it gets solved what's the difference." They stood their in silence for awhile before Alec spoke up again.

"So you know Tatum does AA? I didn't think anyone here knew that?" _You know,_ thought Nick.

"She had to haul me home one night to and it came up." Alec was going to say something when Tatum came back to them hanging up the cell.

"He's willing to give us the warrant if we get DNA on Lana," said Tatum.

"Let's go bug Wendy than," said Nick.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Oh my god you look so pretty," said Wendy coming up to Tatum and hugging her. "No one brings me cake anymore since you left."

"I'll bring you some if you tell me the DNA from Lana is up front," said Tatum. Wendy twirled in her chair over to the computer and started typing. Alec looked around the lab and seemed lost.

"This looks cool," said Alec going to touch a machine and Wendy smacked his hand.

"That is more than we make in a year don't break it."

"Ok…" said Alec. Tatum looked at Nick and grinned.

"It's like a museum don't touch things," said Tatum.

"Be grateful she didn't throw you out. When Sanders ran the lab I pissed him off and he threw me out," said Nick.

"You squints are so violent," said Alec.

"Squints?" asked Nick raising an eyebrow.

"You know squints because you guys…squint with the microscopes and the looking and I heard it on Bones and I'm just gonna shut up now," said Alec sitting down. Tatum grinned at Alec and he smiled back at her and Wendy caught it.

"Ok…your DNA should be ready about," the printer dinged. "Now." She pulled it. "Male, unknown but if you get me something to compare it should narrow things down."

"Well let me call Leyon and see if he's willing to take it." Tatum walked out of the lab and Wendy called out to her.

"I want my cake."

"I'll get you your cake Wendy so relax." The sound of glass breaking and Alec looked sheepish at the broken test tube.

"That wasn't expensive was it?"

"No it just had a flesh eating virus in it," said Wendy. Alec went pale and Wendy grinned. "We squints like to play around with the newbie's around here."

"I see why Tatum stayed here so long," said Alec.

"We got a warrant on the way. Who wants to pay Mr. Patrof a visit?" asked Tatum.

"I do," said Nick and Alec at the same time.

"Teamwork…it's a beautiful thing," said Wendy wiping away a pretend tear.

……………………………………………………………………………………………....

Tatum was able to get a warrant for Patrof's business and his home, they hit the business first though because of what it was, a strip club.

"Wonder where he finds his girls?" asked Tatum. She parked the car and Alec and Nick both got out and went to the front door. The bouncer looked them over but he noticed Nick's vest and Alec's badge on his jacket and let them in. The club was packed and they had push there way through the crowd up to the bar. Tatum pulled out her badge and showed it to the bartender.

"Demetrius Patrof? Where is he?" The bartender jerked his head over to another room and went back to pouring drinks. They walked past the stage and Nick looked at the girl on the stage and she didn't look a day over twenty one to him. There eyes locked and she had that same look that Lucy had in her photos lost and scared out of her mind.

They went into the private room where an older man was sitting on a sofa with at least six girls and two other guys.

"Demetrius Patrof?" The older man with black hair with gray streaks looked up and smirked at Tatum.

"If you're looking for a job honey you need to come back when you get your weight under control. It's a shame your hot too, natural redhead I bet." He leered at Tatum and she just gave him a smile.

"I'm probably too old for you anyway. You like them under eighteen anyway," said Tatum.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. All the girls who work here are legal and of age."

"Really that girl on stage looks like she's sixteen," said Nick.

"And I bet they work here of there own free will not fear of being beaten to death," said Alec.

"What are you three going on about?" asked Patrof.

"Lana Chekhov sound familiar to you?" asked Tatum.

"Not at all," said Patrof.

"Really her father says you told him that if he gave you his daughters you would find them homes here in the States," said Alec. Nick looked at Patrof's hands and noticed that his hands had a few bruises on them and that could be a sign that he hit Lana with his bare hands.

"How did you hurt your hands?" asked Nick. Patrof looked at his hands and shrugged.

"A group of guys got grabby with one of my girls and me and another bouncer took care of them."

"We have a warrant to search your club and your home. According to Lana's father he was told by you that his girls would be taken care of. Instead you sold his five year old to a rapist and his fifteen year old was a hooker for you." Tatum handed him the warrant and he almost ripped it out of her hands to read it.

"This is ridiculous I have never heard of any of this and I don't sell children and I have never killed anyone." He stood up and approached Tatum threateningly. Alec got in front of her.

"Back up and sit down before I make you sit down," said Alec. Patrof sat back down.

"We're gonna start in the office and than question your girls and maybe your customers if I feel like it. So sit down and shut up," said Tatum. "Alec can you watch him and make sure he doesn't go anywhere." Alec nodded. Tatum and Nick went into another room that was Patrof's office. Nick pulled out a pair of latex gloves and Tatum grabbed a pair too. Nick looked at her.

"Not a CSI anymore."

"Doesn't mean I don't remember the rules." He grinned and started looking through Patrof's desk. Tatum went across the room to check out a closet when the floorboards under her gave a huge creak. They looked at each other and Tatum jumped up and down a little on the floor and it moved.

"Ok I'm fat but not that fat."

"Trap door?" asked Nick. They moved a rug out of the way and found the hinge of the trap door. Nick pulled it open and they both drew their weapons.

"After you," said Tatum. Nick shook his head and descended down the stairs with Tatum behind him. They went down a long hallway and at the end of the hall was a locked door. Tatum pulled out her pen knife and started on the lock and popped it.

"Where the hell did you learn how to do that?" asked Nick.

"My dad locked his keys in the car one day and this was easier than breaking out at a window. Wanna lead the way." Nick opened the door and was shocked by what he saw. The room was filled with girls who were still in their teens and looked scared out of there minds.

"Oh god," said Nick. Tatum put her weapon away and came into the room.

"It's ok we're here to help you," said Tatum. Nick got on his radio and requested for back up and for medical transport.

"I think Patrof knows about the girls in the basement?" asked Tatum.

"He's about too," said Nick. They told the girls to stay there and that they would be back and went upstairs and back to the VIP lounge. Patrof was looking at Alec smugly and Nick couldn't wait to wipe that smug look off his face. Tatum pulled out her cuffs and grinned at Patrof.

"I found your stash downstairs." The smug look on Patrof's face faded to be replaced with a flash of disbelief. "They really look like there here of their own free will."

"I brought them to America they owe me." Alec grabbed him by the collar and made him face the wall while Tatum cuffed him.

"Yeah I owe you a cell downtown," snapped Tatum. "Demetrius Patrof you are under arrest for human trafficking, kidnapping, and the murder of Lana Chekhov."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_Two days later_

Tatum and Alec were taking a break from the case and were out for lunch at Vino's, a little Italian place a few blocks from PD.

"So Wendy has about half our DNA ran, Mandy is still weeding through prints in the basement and Archie is running all the girl's passports to see if they're legal passports and to see if any are in missing persons. Patrof has a lawyer but I don't see any lawyer getting him out of this. All those girls were underage," said Tatum sipping her tea. Alec nodded and Tatum sat her drink down and frowned.

"Are you alright, you've been kind of quite since we brought Patrof in." Alec sighed and sat his fork down.

"You promise to be honest with me?" _Ok where is this going,_ thought Tatum.

"Yeah."

"Did something happen between you and Stokes before you left the lab?" Tatum raised an eyebrow and Alec went on. "When we first went out for dinner you pretty much told me everything about you before you came to Vegas but you never did tell me who got pregnant and I didn't push it because it was your business and not mine. But…"

"So what brought on the need to know now?" asked Tatum.

"It was something Catherine Willows said last night."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hi I'm Alec Norwich," he held his hand out to Catherine and she shook it.

"Catherine Willows. So what do we have here?" she gestured to the table where the case they had so far was laid out.

"The girl's passports. We have over thirty here and we're trying to match passport with the girl it belongs too," said Alec. It seemed over whelming to him but Catherine just grinned.

"Ok, we have pictures of the girls from the club and Archie can scan the faces and match them that way," said Catherine.

"God you squints are wonderful." Catherine grinned and gave a mock bow.

"I've heard some pretty good things about you too." She started picking up the passports and she grinned at him. "So you're Tatum's partner," she let the sentence trail off and her grin got bigger. "Not to be nosy but I saw you guys sharing an I-pod in the break room waiting for DNA, looked a little chummy to me." Alec shrugged, he wasn't about to go public with his relationship in the middle of a case. Catherine bagged finish bagging the passports.

"It's good that she's moving on, she was really hung up on Nick for awhile. I didn't think she would ever get over that considering how it ended."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tatum sighed and wished she could kick Catherine's ass, Alec looked a little dishearten and Tatum decided to set him straight. He deserved her being totally honest with him.

"Ok, here's the deal. Nick and I spent some time together and I think the cliché saying of 'one thing led to another' goes here and we did sleep together and yeah he is my baby daddy. But I felt one way and he felt another and in the end it really didn't mean anything and than I quit the lab and I got to met you and I really like being with you." She took his hand from across the table. "I really mean that." Alec squeezed her hand back and went to say something when his pager went off.

"DNA is finished." He called for the check and some doggie bags. "I like being with you too." They left the restaurant together and didn't notice the guy behind them get up and leave too.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_A week later_

Nick was happy to get out of the rain and walked into the dinner and looked around until he spotted Tatum sitting in a booth near the back. He went over to her and sat down; she was eating a bagel and a bowl of fruit salad. Tatum looked over at him and shrugged.

"You don't mind that I started breakfast without you? I was starving."

"No not at all." The waitress came by and took Nick's order for coffee and a plate of eggs and bacon. "So how's the case against Patrof coming?"

"The D.A is gonna throw the book at him for everything. Over thirty girls in the basement and she's charging with multiple counts of rape, abuse and trafficking and she's going for life without parole for what he did to Lana. We're waiting for the feds to come in and take the case though when they realize Patrof has been doing this for over ten years and god knows how many girls," said Tatum finishing her bagel.

"What about Lucy's dad is he going to testify against Patrof?" asked Nick.

"Yes but I don't think he's going to get Lucy back. Her social worker and her doctor are very against it and to be honest so am I. She's starting to do a little better. I'm going to go see her this weekend and show her where Lana is buried." Nick had heard through the grapevine that Tatum and Alec had taken care of burial for Lana so she wouldn't be put in a Jane-Doe graveyard.

"So how was your shift?" asked Tatum.

"Busy has usual...I realize that nothing surprises me anymore about Vegas," said Nick telling her about the case that had brought them to an S&M club and how it just didn't seem weird anymore. Tatum grinned.

"You miss the lab don't you?" asked Nick.

"Only the fun cases you nightshift monkeys seem to find."

"You could come back you know after you have the baby." _I really want you to come back._ It just popped into his head without warning and he almost said it out loud. He made himself take a drink of his coffee and nearly burnt a layer off his tongue.

"I like where I am. Not so many dead people and no David Hodges it's really a win-win-win." Nick allowed himself to laugh and Tatum grinned at him.

"You know I really liked working with you again," said Nick. "Do you think that maybe we could maybe try that friendship thing again?" _Dump your boyfriend for the love of god._ It almost came out of his mouth again and he forced himself to drink another sip of the boiling coffee. Tatum reached into her bag and pulled out a folder and handed it to him.

"Actually the reason I wanted to meet with you was because I think maybe we can be friends and I think we can be civil about this," she gestured at the bump. "I really don't want things to end up like they were with my parents. You said you wanted to be part of the baby's life and here."

Nick took the folder and pulled out a stack of papers, it was a custody agreement. Part of him had hoped she wanted to meet him for something else but he had to remind himself that he let her go and she could do what she wanted including seeing other people. _She trying and at least she's agreeing to let me see the baby._ Nick started reading through the papers carefully.

"You don't want child support."

"Well I mean if you want to it's not a big issue. I got a raise and everything is covered by my insurance. So I'm gonna be ok, we're not gonna starve." God she was being almost too fair about this considering everything.

"Ok," He kept reading and saw that she had set up visits for him every other weekend, holiday and if he had a day off and wanted to see the baby he could. She had even cleared it for him to take the baby out of state.

"You really thought of everything," said Nick pointing out the ok to leave the state.

"Well your family lives in Texas and if you leave for the holidays it's only fair." Nick didn't think now was the time to tell Tatum that his parents and family didn't know that he had gotten someone pregnant. _Could be fun at Easter,_ thought Nick. He kept reading.

_In the event of my death, I wish for my child to be placed in the care of my father. Master Sergeant Wallace T Fritz currently stationed at Fort Bragg-North Carolina._ Nick stopped reading and looked at Tatum confused.

"What?" asked Tatum.

"You wanna send our baby to Fort Bragg?" He was snapping at her and Tatum took the papers back from Nick and pointed at the paragraph and the one under it.

"Only if I croak. You would still have visitation during the summer and holidays and wouldn't have to pay support," Nick cut her off.

"Why not let me raise the baby?" Tatum raised an eyebrow.

"Because until last week you weren't in a good place and I already talked to my father and he agreed that if I did die he would take care of the baby. Fort Bragg is a safe place and if he were to get custody he would ask to be stationed on base at all times and I know the baby would be safe and well cared for."

"So what you think I won't take care of the baby if you die?" Tatum didn't answer and Nick felt his temper start to rise. They had been getting along but her assuming that he wouldn't take care of the baby if she died was upsetting.

"Why don't you think I'll take care of the baby?" asked Nick trying to stay calm.

"It's not that I don't it's just, I feel its best that it be with my family. I want to bring you into this but you I still have issues trusting you. This isn't something you can just pick up whenever you feel like." _Not like this relationship, back with the hot/cold but no, not again with you, never again with you. _

She and Alec had started staying over night at each other's homes, they went to HR and filled out the paperwork about being a couple on the force. They agreed to not hide what they had anymore and to be honest she was starting to fall in love with Alec. Alec was the one who urged her to meet with Nick this morning and get the custody settled and he had been in favor of giving Nick custody if she died.

"_Tatum that's his baby. Shouldn't he take care of it if you go?" asked Alec._

"_If I could trust him to not go back on his word that yeah I would, but he goes back and forth too much for my liking and this isn't something you can just jump in and out on. Visits and holidays are one thing, but to have him be in charge of my baby twenty four-seven. No. Until I feel that he can be trusted he gets visits and holidays," said Tatum. _

"_What would he have to do to get you to trust him again?" asked Alec. _

"_Don't know," said Tatum. He can't go back in time and take back how he acted, if he could do that I would trust him again. _

"Look Tatum I was in a bad place and I acted like a jerk, but I'm not going to sign these. If you die I want the baby to stay here with me. I want you to trust me again." He reached across the table to touch her hand and she jerked her hand away. _I can't trust you, I want to and I can't. _

"I have to go, have a lawyer call mine and we'll settle things that way." She took the papers back from him, threw some money on the table and left. Nick groaned and followed her outside. It was still raining and she was digging through her bag for her keys. He got next to her and touched her arm.

"Honey." It was the tone he said it in that made her want snap. He had used that tone with her right before she went to bed with him, before she let herself fall for him and he treated her like shit. _Hot/cold, hot/cold…god what do you really want from me?! _She took his hand off her and glared at him.

"Don't you ever call me that again! You lost that right months ago. You lost the right to have any say in anything about me!"

"You have my baby I think that gives me some say!" snapped Nick. _Damn it things were going well and I blew it again but she has no right to question me wanting to raise my baby if something happens to her._

"Oh now it's yours! Two months ago you couldn't deal and now you can! You think you can just come and go into my life whenever you feel like and do you really think about how it makes me feel? How much it really hurts? Working with you is one thing this is something different. I'm trying to make this fair between us and you get pissed off because I'm not just gonna hand the baby over to you like that!"

"I didn't mean to hurt you and I don't know how many different ways I can tell you that I'm sorry and how to make you believe me," said Nick

"You get to live your life like nothing ever happened between us and I don't. I get to wake up every morning and try to hide it under a shirt or jacket. I get stares around the department because I won't name who, I had to leave the lab because I wanted to be safe and you have the balls to question my decision about it's care when your life hasn't changed at all. You don't have the reminder under your shirt everyday that you lied to me!" She angrily wiped her tears away and it dawned on Nick how much he really had hurt her. It wasn't just that he lied and treated her like shit, she had needed him something that was probably against her nature to admit and he walked away. She let her guard down to him and he threw it in her face. _I am sorry for that and I really do miss you._

"I'm going home now and back to someone who isn't going to screw me over at the drop of hat and unlike you has been there for me pretty much since day one." God she knew how to hit below the belt. "Call me when you get a lawyer!" She dug out her keys and got in the car and drove off leaving Nick in the rain. He sighed and got in his truck and drove off.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

He sat in his car and watched the exchange between them and shook his head at what he just witnessed.

"She's very pretty Nicky…I should have known you would go for a red-head. I see you treat her just like you treated me. You haven't changed at all, still the same self absorbed man. Don't worry Nick; I'll take care of her and the baby. You won't have to worry about her much longer.

Nigel Crane put his car into drive and left the dinner and drove back to Tatum's apartment. He went into the empty apartment next to Tatum's and went into the crawlspace that went into her attic and watched her sleeping through the peep hole into her bedroom. She had today off and was sleeping in her bed, she slept like a child blankets pulled close to her, her arms wrapped around her stomach cradling her unborn child.

"I'll take very good care of you Tatum don't worry."

I've been a bit busy with school and only have six weeks left until I graduate so updates may take a bit longer.

Love it, Hate it, review it please.


	11. Honestly

Honestly

December 2008

Nick knocked on Greg's front door and Greg let him in. It looked like Greg was still trying to get ready to go to the LVPD Christmas party. He tie was on but not tied, he had one shoe on, he was holding the other one and he looked like he had nicked himself shaving. Nick raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh.

"Having issues this evening?" asked Nick. Greg rolled his eyes and Nick could hear Katie crying upstairs.

"We may not be going if Jenna can't get Katie to go to sleep before the sitter gets here. Someone at daycare was kind enough to bring their sick kid in and he infected the whole class. We just got the fever to go down, but she's still coughing, whiny and clingy. We have to take turns holding her if she's not sleeping or she screams herself hoarse." Greg looked around. "Do you know where my other shoe is?"

"You're holding it," said Nick. Greg looked and muttered something about lack of coffee and sleep was causing him to lose his mind. "And yet you guys are gonna try for more."

"I told you I'm losing my mind," Greg finished putting on his tie and sat down.

"Greg!" yelled Jenna from upstairs. He groaned.

"What!"

"I need her cold meds again! She just spit them on me and now I have to change!" Nick looked at Greg and smiled.

"Chill out G I'll get them. Where are her meds?"

"Bathroom counter pink bottle with the spoon attached," said Greg. "Thanks."

"All the years you rushed my DNA, this is the least I can do,"

Nick went upstairs and grabbed the bottle from the bathroom and poked his head into Katie's room. The nineteen month old was wearing a pair of purple footie pajamas and was clinging to her mother and sobbing softly. Jenna was walking around the room with her and talking to her quietly in Italian. Nick knocked and Jenna looked over at him and he shook the bottle.

"I got mommy's little helper here." She sighed and put Katie down in the bed and she started crying louder.

"One second honey," Jenna's white shirt was now a light pink and she looked really tired. She took the bottle from Nick and poured some of the meds into the spoon and picked Katie back up and she was so tried she didn't even fight back about taking the meds. Jenna picked her back up and started to rock the baby again.

"Hi Nick."

"Hey Jenna. How's it going?"

"I'm happy we started the two week shut down for the holidays…so I get a sick baby and both sides of the family coming in town next week. Fun times all around."

"I'm still invited to Christmas dinner right?" asked Nick. He was scheduled to work the holiday and by working he wouldn't have to explain to his parents about what was going on with Tatum and the future grandchild they didn't know about.

"She's sleeping," said Nick. Jenna looked down at her daughter and sighed with relief.

"Oh thank god." Jenna put her in the bed carefully and stepped back. Katie rolled over and stayed asleep. "She's been up since 3 am and she went down for an hour and has been up since. Greg and I have been taking turns sleeping, this is our chance to relax for a few hours and mommy can toss back some cocktails and maybe daddy will get lucky."

"I don't wanna know," Nick laughed. "You planning on going in that…it's a nice color," Jenna looked at her shirt that had pink cold medicine all over the front and shrugged.

"I think that everyone will be so drunk no one will notice when we get there." She looked at her shirt again. "Give me ten minutes." Jenna left the room and Nick laughed. He looked in the crib at the sleeping baby and moved some the hair out of her face. She rolled over and whined in her sleep. Nick could remember when she was small enough to be in the NICU and Greg and Jenna wouldn't leave her for a second.

"You know you're a lucky little girl."

"Hey you alright?" asked Jenna. She had changed into a green dress shirt and long black skirt.

"Yeah. Just thinking about when you guys first had her and Greggo thought about putting her in his field kit to see if she would fit since she was so small."

"Greg used to love to watch her sleep when she first came home, now he whines that she's rejuvenating so he can't sleep." Nick shook his head.

"You know with Greg it's like you already have two kids."

"I just don't have change him." They left Katie's room and went back into the living room and Greg was sleeping. His head tilted back and he was snoring, Jenna looked at Greg and smiled.

"They are both very cute when they sleep." Jenna sat down next to him and shook him a little. He woke up with a start and Jenna smiled at him.

"You wanna cancel Julia and stay home?"

"But it's free food and booze and maybe entertainment when the lab rats get trashed and dance," said Greg.

"Oh Greggo. Nice to see you have your priorities straight," joked Nick. The doorbell went off and Jenna went to answer it. Greg looked at Nick and shrugged.

"Jenna and I haven't had a night out since we got married four months ago and this is free so don't judge me."

"I have no room to judge anyone," said Nick. Julia walked in with Jenna and she eyed Nick.

"You're lucky I'm married or I would so hit on you right now you look so damn cute," said Julia.

"Julia, I have cheesecake and Jones soda for you and several TiVo-ed hours of Bridezilla. Katie is sleeping so just enjoy getting paid for not doing anything for about five hours. Where is your wonderful husband this evening?" asked Jenna.

"Sleeping off his second shift job from UPS. He told me if he delivered another fruit cake he was gonna off himself."

"You two are just so damn cute," said Greg getting his jacket and Jenna's.

"Oh you know I love your cousin Greggo, wouldn't have fallen into the marriage trap if I didn't. Megan still mocks me about it, she's all the way on the East Coast running the bakery there and she still finds time to give me hell about it," whined Julia.

"Behave and let Katie sleep or you'll be sorry. If she wakes up and you can't get her back down call the cell and we'll come home," said Jenna taking her coat from Greg and putting it on.

They said good night to her and left the house and got into Greg's car. Nick crawled in the back and Jenna pulled her seat up so he could sit. He listened to the couple chat in the front about their plans for the holidays and the gossip about Jenna's employees and what was going on around the lab. _If you had told me that Greg was gonna be the one married and with a kid I would have laughed my ass off, they're good for each other._

Since the day at the diner he and Tatum had really spoken to each other it was messages on each other voice mail and answering machine. He still wasn't agreeing to her wanting to leave the baby with her father in case she died and she wasn't agreeing to give him custody if she died. A lawyer had called the other day and left a message for him to see if they could meet and try to work out an agreement. He didn't return the call; he had the night off and spent it sitting in basement drinking trying to figure out how he messed this up so damn bad. _She was a good friend and I really blew it._

"Hey you coming or not?" asked Jenna. Nick realized they were in the parking lot of the hotel were the LVPD was holding the party.

"Sorry I zoned out."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Oh can I feel it kick?" asked Ronnie. Tatum sat down next to her and nodded.

"It will cost you five bucks. I figured I'll take all the money and start a college fund with it." Ronnie started to dig through her purse and Tatum shook her head. "First feel is free alright, just don't tell anyone." Ronnie put her hand on Tatum's stomach and frowned and than she started to smile.

"Oh my god it kicked me."

"If you want come over around four am and he kicks up a storm," said Tatum.

"So you know what it is?" asked Ronnie.

"Well the doctor said it was a penis. I'll believe it when I'm holding it in February." Ronnie smiled and Alec sat down Tatum's water and Ronnie's wine.

"Gossiping about me." Ronnie took her wine.

"Talking about how you got Tatum to put on make up and a dress and look like a girl. It's scary a little."

"I was promised a bubble bath and back rub if I got pretty and what can I say I'm a cheap date," said Tatum. Alec kissed her check.

"You're already pretty; it was just a little nudge to help you not look so much like a cross between a tomboy and a hippie." She elbowed Alec in the gut and he pretended to be wounded.

"You look like you got a crazy Tara Banks makeover," said Mandy from the next table.

"Good or bad makeover?" asked Tatum. She was wearing a brown dress that fell to her knees with her normally straight hair curled in ringlets and she even put on make-up something she was going to regret later on, all her past experience with make up lead to her face breaking out in either hives or a rash. But what the hell, new Tatum was gonna try this 'looking like a girl' thing out.

"It's good, you look so pretty," said Mandy. Tatum shrugged.

"It only took me three hours to make this happen. And I threw a curling iron so I guess it was worth it." Alec hugged her.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot that part," he said.

"I almost hit you with it."

"You missed though and that is key and besides the finished product is worth it," said Alec. Tatum felt herself start to blush and Ronnie started laughing.

"You made her blush I didn't think I would see the day." Tatum laughed and she took a sip of her water and she looked around to see who else was here. She spotted Nick and turned away and kissed Alec on the cheek.

Part of her was pissed off at him for not agreeing to the original custody arrangement she had set up she thought she was really being more than fair considering the fact he hadn't expressed any interest in her or the baby at all until last month. _You can't just pick and choose what you want when you want it._ Yet at the same time she couldn't blame him for fighting with her about it, in fact it sort of made her happy that he was fighting with her about it. _I mean that shows he cares somewhat about what happens to him. If he didn't care he would have just rolled over a week into it._ He still hadn't called her lawyer back yet so she wasn't sure what to do.

_Maybe we should try that talking thing again._

"Hey space cadet you still there?" asked Alec.

"Yeah just thinking that I told myself if I ever did get this dressed up it was going to be for my future husband so you are a very luck man," said Tatum.

"Oh…I still haven't asked you to marry me yet?" joked Alec. Tatum studied her left hand and smirked.

"I don't think so. Nope I do not see a little diamond on this hand."

"Oh believe me when I do ask you Miss Tatum Fritz it is going to knock your socks off."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

_She…she doesn't look like Tate anymore. Yeah she looks really really really pretty but she just doesn't look like herself. _Yeah a girl wearing a short skirt was more likely to catch his attention, but he really liked a more causal look, someone who didn't feel the need to be stared at by everyone in a ten miles radius. _She was wearing a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt, hair was in ponytail, she looked so damn pretty. _

He looked back over and watched Alec play with one of the curls and he watched her grin and give Alec a playful shove. _I wonder if she calls him girl names too._ He watched them get up and head over to get some food. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

"I know that look too damn well," said Jenna sitting down next to him and handing him a beer.

"Where did Greggo go?" asked Nick. Jenna nodded out to the dance floor where Greg was moshing with Archie and Riley.

"I'm not so good with the moshing. So can I ask who is causing your heart break?"

"What makes you say that?" Jenna rolled her eyes and took a sip of her rum and coke.

"When Greg and I were in college together and he was seeing that 'bimbo' I would sit there and just watch them together and when Greg and I finally got together he said he would always see me with this super lost expression when he was with her and he could never figure out what it meant. When I told him it was my heart breaking slowly he felt so bad he sent me roses for a week straight. So trust me from one person who really knows how much unrequited love really sucks ass I know that look. So who is she, I'll beat her ass if you want."

"I think she could take you," said Nick.

"But I have that crazy Mexican in me, we fight dirty. I'm not above hair pulling and scratching," said Jenna and Nick started to laugh. "So come on spill."

"I gonna guess that Greg told you about Tatum and me."

"Yeah…bits and pieces of it. I know you two had a fling and that you're gonna be a baby daddy. I gonna guess that didn't make the department news letter."

"No and the fact that she won't talk to me anymore and that she started seeing someone else after I acted like a asshole and it's in my face that she's happy…" Jenna cut him off.

"Are you sure she's happy?"

"She looks happy and she seems really happy. She's says she happy.

"Being happy and really meaning it are two different things. Greg used to say he was happy with the 'bimbo' and he really wasn't. He wanted to be happy because he thought she was happy. And really no one was happy at all."

"I want her to be happy," said Nick.

"But are you sure she's happy?"

"She's dating." Jenna scoffed.

"I dated too when I couldn't be with Greg, didn't mean I was really happy. It was just easy to pretend I was." Nick looked at her and realized that maybe she was really on to something.

"Where the hell did all this wisdom come from?" asked Nick.

"I spent years being in love with someone I didn't think I had a chance in hell with. God Nick I was gonna marry someone else because I couldn't be with Greg, thank god I didn't but still. Just answer this question don't think about it. Do you love her?"

_He loved the jokes and the way she called him Betty. The way she brought him coffee when he was so tired he couldn't see straight. She brought him home and took care of him when he got shit faced at Warrick's funeral; she stole his clothes and washed them afterwards for him. They were sitting in a drawer untouched, still smelling of Tide and fabric softener. He loved the look on her face when he had taken her cases and finished them for her. The fact that she let him cry in her apartment and made him laugh afterwards, she let him talk to her for hours. The way she kissed him back, the way she said his name during, the way she understood him, her honesty. How she kept trying even when he quit, until he finally made her quit._

"Yes." It was so damn obvious he really was in love with her. He wanted to be with her, he missed her so much when she left the lab and now she seemed so damn far away.

"So what are you waiting for cowboy?" asked Jenna.

"I don't know what to say to her," said Nick. "We're really not even talking right now."

"I get talking than. Trust me the longer you wait the harder it is." Greg came back to the table and grabbed Jenna.

"Come on I wanna dance with you. Riley won't dance anymore because Archie and I stepped on her feet and she claims we broke a toe." Jenna waved at Nick.

"Remember the hardest part is just letting it all go," she said and she let Greg drag her out to the dance floor. Nick watched has Greg pulled Jenna close to him and kissed the top of her head and dance with her. He grinned watched them, he couldn't think of two people who really loved each other more, considering everything they had been through together.

_Oh, when you were young  
Did you ever love someone  
So much you couldn't bare the thought of losing them  
Well I remember the sleepless nights  
When I'd lie awake  
If only I could tell you how I feel_

Nick looked around the dance floor and spotted Tatum dancing with Alec and Ronnie and felt that similar tightening in his chest like the time he found she was leaving the lab and him for good.

_Remember the hardest part is just letting it all go_. Is that what he needed to do? Just let go and put it all out there for her? _She did for you maybe you should do the same for her._

_Well I would walk around the earth  
To have another chance with you  
Spend the evening, paining thoughts of all you do  
Well I remember the sleepless nights  
When I'd lie awake  
If only I could tell you how I feel_

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"So you really wanna meet my dad? He is a scary man," said Tatum. Alec pulled her close and put his head on top of hers.

"It would be nice to meet him. Ask him what you were like when you were younger," said Alec.

"I was bad a bit odd. I used to sneak out at night when I lived with my grandfather to ride the horses at night, um I was a flag girl in high school. I literally let my freak flag fly." Alec laughed.

"Oh yeah you sound really bad."

"Yeah well what else was there to do in Utah?" The song ended and Tatum went to leave the floor and she noticed that Alec was down on one knee. "Oh my god!"

"I need to ask you something and it's really important…would you wait here with me while I tie my shoe."

"You're an ass." She walked away and Alec got up and took her hand.

"Oh come on. It was funny. I told you if I was gonna ask it would knock your socks off."

"You have a bad sense of humor. I expect you to have a really good Hanukkah present for me."

"I do it's really good I promise," said Alec squeezing her hand. Tatum shook her head and went back to the table. Alec went to say hello to someone from the nightshift of the department.

_Would I have said yes if he had been serious? I mean we really haven't been together that long, but he's a really nice guy and he's been really great about me and everything going on and I really do like him a lot and I mean how many people really ask you to share their life with you?_

"Hey Tate," she looked up and saw Nick standing there.

"Hey."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nick sat down at the table with Tatum and wished he could get his head together to tell her what he wanted to say. He watched her and Alec leave the dance floor and he watched him get on one knee and he couldn't hear what was said but looking at her hand he didn't see a ring on her hand.

"So um Merry Christmas," said Tatum.

"Yeah Happy Hanukkah," said Nick. He sat down and he could feel that awkwardness between them. _Just say anything you jackass._

"So…" started Tatum.

"What was that with Alec?" he blurted it out before he realized it and Tatum let out a laugh.

"Alec has an odd sense of humor." He laughed and the awkwardness between them came back and she started twisting a strand of her already curled hair.

"So have you called the lawyer back yet?" asked Tatum.

"No. If I sign the papers now…would you reconsider giving me custody in the future?" asked Nick. She took a sip of her water and thought. He couldn't take his eyes off her. _Her eyes get dark when she really thinking about something._ She was just too pretty.

"Yes, if you sign the papers now and we can keep being civil with each other I'll change the papers so you can have custody." It shocked Nick and to be honest she shocked herself, she hadn't expected herself to cave like that. _He just…god what is wrong with me…he just he sounded so damn sad about this and well at least he's willing to meet me somewhat in the middle about this._

"Serious?" asked Nick.

"Yes." She looked at him and he got the feeling he did when he first kissed her. _Would you just spit out what the hell you want to say or at least something._ Tatum turned away from him and took another sip of her water. "So were back to square one."

"Yeah." It was really the last place he wanted to be with Tatum. She grinned and held out her hand to shake and he took it. She looked across the room and Alec was still talking with some of the guys from Vice.

"I think I lost my date for the night."

"If he knows what is good for him he'll come back," said Nick. _If I knew what was good for me I tell you what I really want._ Tatum sighed and looked at Nick and before she could really think about what she was saying she blurted it out.

"Since my date is gone for the time being would you dance with me instead?" asked Tatum.

"Yes." Nick stood up and Tatum gave him her hand and they went out to the dance floor. Nick wrapped both his arms around her waist and Tatum wrapped her arms around his neck.

_One Two Three Four  
Tell me that you love me more  
Sleepless long nights  
That is what my youth was for_

_God just spit it out,_ thought Nick. It wasn't supposed to be this hard, why the hell was it so hard to be honest with her. She had always been honest with him.

_Old teenage hopes are alive at your door  
Left you with nothing but they want some more_

_Oh, you're changing your heart  
Oh, You know who you are_

"You look really nice," said Nick. _Moron._

"Yeah Alec sort of blackmailed me into the dress and make-up. I looked retarded be honest," said Tatum. _Damn it I wish I could be._

_Sweetheart bitter heart now I can't tell you apart  
Cozy and cold, put the horse before the cart_

_Those teenage hopes who have tears in their eyes  
Too scared to own up to one little lie_

"So are you going back to Texas for Christmas?" asked Tatum.

"Nope I'm on call. What about you?" asked Nick.

"Going to see my dad for the first time in months. He's really excited about his new grandbaby…it's a boy." Nick almost stepped on her foot and Tatum grinned at him.

"Really?" asked Nick. She could hear it in his voice, the excitement, the joy…maybe she was making the right decision to change the papers after all.

_Oh, you're changing your heart  
Oh, you know who you are_

"Listen Tate…I really wanna tell you something and I don't really know how to say it so…" Nick was cut off by the P.A system.

"A blue Camry, plate number King, Vicki, Cat, 4, 9, 7 in the parking garage, your lights are on. Blue Camry, plate King, Vicki, Cat 4, 9,7 please turn off your lights." Tatum groaned and stepped back from Nick.

"Could have sworn I turned the lights off. I'll be back in a minute," said Tatum. Nick nodded and she left him on the dance floor and she went over to Alec and gave him a kiss on the check and left the hall.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_Twenty minutes later_

"Tatum…Tatum you out here?" called Alec heading out to the parking garage. It shouldn't have taken her this long to come out here and turn off the car lights.

"If this is your way of getting back at me for the mock wedding proposal it's really lame," called Alec trying to remember where they had parked. "I'm not scared at all!" Actually he was a little twitchy about parking garages and she knew it. This was just so mean on her part. He got closer to the car and felt a sense of panic creep in, the lights were still on.

"Tatum?" He got up to the car and felt something horrible take a hold of him. The windows of her car were smashed in and Tatum was nowhere in sight.

_Thirty minutes later_

Catherine was clicking pictures of Tatum's car and Greg was collecting finger prints from the vehicle. Nick was collecting evidence from around the car. He reached under the car and pulled Tatum's necklace a Star of David. The chain was broken, _ripped off her neck_. _Was she mugged than taken?_

"I found her necklace," said Nick. Catherine eyed it.

"If they wanted to rob her they messed up not taking the necklace. That is real gold, 24 karts and her purse is here with her wallet and everything is still in it," said Catherine gesturing to her right. Greg looked up.

"Maybe it was a hate crime, she's Jewish."

"So they know which car was hers and lure her out here and what…why take her?" asked Nick.

"I don't know," said Catherine. She looked at the windshield and noticed a note stuck there. She took it off and read it. "Maybe this is a challenge?" Nick looked over and read the note.

_If you want her come and find her!_

Notes

Songs-Until June-Sleepless

Feist- 1,2,3.4

Other fanfic references-Flashback-When Greg and Jenna first met

Love it, hate it, review it please!!!

I have five weeks left of college so the next chapter may have a huge delay so please be patience with me.


	12. Scared

Scared

"Helen think please did anyone threaten Tatum, any cases that stand out to warrant kidnapping her?" asked Grissom.

"Grissom do you know how many times a day I get threatened and I hardly even work cases anymore! I get threats from wife beaters, child rapists, abusive parents whose kids have been taken away! Tatum was working on a task force that shut down a child trafficking and pornography ring. I think that may have pissed some people off but to kidnap her…no…they just would have killed her in the parking lot if it was them," said Helen sipping her brandy. They were still in the party hall and Grissom was questioning Tatum's captain hoping to get something. People were still milling around, but most had headed back to the lab or PD to see if they could help in some way.

"Why would they kill her?" Helen scoffed and sipped her drink.

"Kidnapping means they either want money or they took her to do god knows what to her. She doesn't have money and the department isn't going to pay any ransom demand and I've seen what those freaks were in to. Tatum is too old for them and they couldn't sell her like the other girls, not in her condition." Grissom took off his glasses and pinched his nose.

"Anything else that stands out, please Helen think!"

"She's a good detective. Victims trust her and she's one of the best officers I've had in a long time. You know when I first heard she was transferring in from CSI I thought I was gonna be stuck with some nerd who had no clue how to work with real people. She proved me wrong. You find my girl Grissom I don't care what you have to do or who gets in the way, you find my girl."

"We're going to. Let me call you a cab home," said Grissom. Helen nodded and Grissom called her a cab. "Go wait outside cab should be here soon. I'll call you the second anything changes in the case."

"Has her father been called yet?"

"I'm going to call him when I get back to the lab."

"Guy comes home from Iraq to find out his daughter and her baby is missing. Happy holidays," said Helen finishing her drink.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"You gonna be alright Mandy?" asked Nick. Mandy had changed from her party dress into her lab clothes and was wiping her eyes.

"Yeah I'm gonna be ok. You have something for me?" Nick handed her the necklace they found at the scene.

"We found this under Tatum's car. We think whoever did this ripped it off her neck. Think you can get a print?" Mandy took the necklace out of the bag and studied it.

"Star of David." She sat it down and dusted it. "Some print detail."

"Enough to run it?" asked Nick. _Please god give us something, anything to work with._ Her car was parked away from cameras, Archie and Riley were looking over tapes from the parking garage to see what cars were leaving at the time of Tatum's disappearance, Greg was looking though Tatum's jacket from here and what she had done with Y&F, Catherine was looking over Tatum's car and Grissom was talking to Tatum's captain to see if she knew anything.

"I think so." Mandy got a print lift tape and applied to Tatum's necklace and careful removed the print. "A partial but it's something."

"It's more than we had before," said Nick. Mandy put the print into the scanner and started to run it. Brass poked his head into Mandy's lab.

"Nick can I talk to you for a second?" asked Brass.

"I'll be back." Nick headed out of the lab and Brass motioned that they should go down the hall into Grissom's office. Grissom wasn't back yet, but Brass closed the door and sat down in a chair.

"Sit down Nick." Nick sat down and Brass sighed. "Look this isn't easy for me so I'm just gonna cut to the chase. I talked a little bit with Alec and he told me that you and Tatum were having a bit of a disagreement about her impending stranger and a custody agreement. Now I saw you two tonight and you seemed to be getting along and you were getting along before she left the lab and when she left you two stopped talking. What the hell is going on with you and Tatum Fritz?"

"Jim it's complicated…"

"Simplify and fast before people start thinking we have another Laci Peterson or Jessie Davis on our hands."

"You think I had something to do with what happened to her?" asked Nick shocked. He had known Jim Brass for almost ten years and to have him think that he would hurt another person. _He saw you with a gun pointed at Jeff McKeen and heard the shot. That was different totally different!_

"I know you didn't have anything to do with what happened to her, but people are going to assume Nick and they always assume the worse. Now tell me what was going on between you two."

"I got her pregnant and I found out after she left the lab. We had a falling out and we just started talking again and yeah we were having a disagreement about a custody arrangement, I wanted more rights to the baby and she disagreed. She got a lawyer and wanted me to sign custody papers and I wouldn't. We were talking tonight at the party and we agreed that if I sign the papers has they were if she would agreed to change them in the future if we kept trying to be civil with each other." Brass sighed and rubbed his temple.

"Nick what the hell were you thinking? Besides me, Alec, and her lawyer who else knows you're the biological father?"

"Catherine, Greg…no one else."

"You want me to tell Grissom or do you want too?"

"Tell me what?" asked Grissom coming into his office and shutting the door.

"I'm the father of Tatum's baby," said Nick. Grissom just looked at Nick shocked and sat down in his chair behind his desk. "What say something?" _Anything is better than that look of disappointment on your face._

"I don't know what to say Nicky…I really don't know. I need to call Tatum's father now. Could both of you please give me a minute."

"Grissom," started Nick.

"I need to call her father and tell him his daughter and her unborn child are missing right now. We'll talk later," said Grissom curtly. Brass stood up and left and Nick sighed and left too. Brass went down the hall to brief officers on there assignments and Nick decided to go outside and get some air. _Everyone is gonna know now, everyone is gonna know that you're an asshole and walked away from the girl you knocked up._ He got outside and noticed Alec was sitting on a bench and was looking at something in his hands. _Poor guy_.

He had come running in from the parking garage when he saw what happened to Tatum's car and was freaked out of his mind and screaming for someone to get out there and start processing her car. Nick took a seat on the bench next to him, Alec looked up at him and Nick could see he had been crying.

"Hey," said Nick.

"Hey," said Alec not really looking up from what he was holding in his hands. "I'm sorry I let the cat out of the bag about you and Tatum. But Brass was asking if I thought the biological father had anything to do with what happened to Tatum and I told him you wouldn't hurt her and it went down hill from there." Alec paused and shook his head.

"I shouldn't have let her go alone; I should have walked her to the parking garage. I figured it's the LVPD Christmas party, she'll be ok. Almost every cop in Vegas is only a stone's throw away she'll be ok. She just needed to go out and turn off her damn lights. What's the worse thing that can happen to her? I just answered my own question huh?" Nick sighed.

"No one could have known this was gonna happen to her. Besides if you had offered to go out there with you should would have accused you of babying her and told you where to go," said Nick. Alec scoffed.

"Sounds like her." Nick got a look at what Alec was twirling in his hands; it was a little blue box. "I was just screwing around with her at the party…that way when I did ask her she wouldn't see it coming." Alec shrugged and handed the box to Nick. Nick felt something heavy settle in his chest and he opened the box. It was a gold ring with a white diamond in the setting. _She deserves this more than anything._

"I know we haven't been seeing each other very long but I…I really love her and I wanna be with her no matter what. I…I hope that…it's ok with you. I mean…I know about you and Tatum and I…"

"It's alright," said Nick. "If you wanna marry her than do it. Treat her right. When she comes home, treat her right." It hurt him to say that but Alec clearly loved her, Nick could see it from the look in Alec's eyes.

"I just want her to come home," said Alec.

"Trust me, we're gonna find her. She's probably giving them hell right now; whoever took her is getting more than he bargained for right now," said Nick. Alec scoffed.

"Yeah." Greg came outside.

"Hey. Grissom wants everyone in the layout room."

"I'll be there in a minute," said Nick standing up. Alec nodded.

"I'm gonna head over to PD to see if I can do anything there. I heard Grissom was going to call Tatum's dad…can you tell me when he comes in. I wanted to meet him."

"I'll call you when he shows up," said Nick. Alec sighed and headed out. Nick turned around and went back into the lab hoping that Tatum was really giving whoever took her all sorts of hell right now.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_Oh god why does it hurt,_ thought Tatum. Her head and her wrists were killing her and she was freezing her butt off. She moaned and opened her eyes it was dark and she knew it would take her time for hers eyes to adjust to the darkness. She went to get up and found she couldn't. She looked down at her wrists and noticed that they were bounded to something. _Oh this is never good, never, never, good._ She pulled on them a little to see how far they would go, which wasn't very far at all. _Oh shit._ Her eyes adjusted more to the darkness and saw she was bounded to a pipe in front of her. She looked around and saw nothing but pipes and walls.

_Basement, warehouse, boiler room, anywhere in Vegas…am I still in Vegas, hell am I still in the state? How long was I out? I went to turn off the lights on the car…got to the car…someone…someone called my name. What happened after that? _She realized now that she was handcuffed to the pipe and facing a wall and she tugged on them again. The pipe didn't budge and the cuffs didn't give either, but made a loud clanging sound. _Shit!_

"Those aren't going to give, you don't have the key," said a male voice. _I've heard that voice. In the parking garage before I blacked out._

"Who are you?" asked Tatum trying to turn her head to the sound of the voice.

"A friend of a friend," he said mockingly.

"I don't know anyone who does this to their friends," she tried looking around again and it was still to dark for her to see anything. A single light clicked on, enough for her to see a very small room with no windows.

"I am very sorry about the accommodations. They are the best I can do for you right now." She turned her head so that she could a short man with thick glasses and close cut brown hair was coming towards her. He sat down next to her, smiled and played with her hair. She couldn't help but cringe.

"So pretty, you know I'm not surprised that he was with you. He has such a thing for red-heads."

"Who…who are you talking about?" snapped Tatum.

"Oh now calm down. Getting upset won't help you and I'm sure it's not good for him," he said letting a hand go down to her stomach and she couldn't help but cringe again. _How does he know it's a boy?_ "I am sorry that I have to keep you here like this for a while. I know you hate being cooped up like this…like the horses on your grandparents farm." Tatum felt something horribly cold go through her.

"How do you know about that?" _She hated that her grandfather had to keep the horses in the barn; they had to broken before they could be ridden. In her eyes it was just cruel. They shouldn't be cooped up like that._

"I read your journals. You know it's rare for anyone to write by hand like that anymore."

"You've read my journals?" There were in her apartment on her bookshelf, journals from the time she was thirteen till now. _This freak has been in my home!_ The grin got even bigger and he started playing with her hair again.

"I know I shouldn't have, I just wanted to know you a little better before we got to see each other." He kissed her cheek and she wanted to wipe her face to get the feel of him off her. "You know I wasn't surprised to see how little he's changed in the past seven years. He's still the same; selfish, self-absorbed, only cares about himself! The way he treated you was so disrespectful. I never would have treated you like that, he has no manners!"

"Nick? Are you talking about Nick?" asked Tatum. _How the hell does he know Nick?_ _What does he want with me?_

"Yes Nick Stokes! He had no right to treat you that way. He thinks he can just dismiss people whenever he feels like without even thinking about their feelings. He treated me the same way too! Made me think we were friends and than afterward I didn't mean anything to him. But I would have thought he would have more respect for the person carrying his child, guess I was wrong." He stood up and started to pace and Tatum started to really feel the panic set in.

_I'm locked in a room with a freak that's been in my home, read my journals, he's kidnapped me and he's ranting about Nick! Oh god help me, please! Don't let him hurt my baby please!_ He came back over to her and kissed the top of her head.

"But it's going to be alright, I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore. I'm going to take care of you. Very good care of you, I'll be back in a little while." He stood up and walked away.

"Please let me out of here! Or at least take the cuffs off," She hated how weak and scared she sounded and he just smiled at her.

"I will when I know you can behave yourself. Until than this is just a precaution, I'll be back soon don't worry." He turned the light off and left the room and Tatum lost it and started to scream.

"LET ME GO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! YOU CAN'T KEEP ME HERE!" And he called back to her.

"Yes I can and I intend to keep you here for a very, very long time." She listened to his footsteps walk away and she started to cry and scream hoping against hope that someone would hear her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Nothing in Tatum's recent or open cases to suggest anyone wanting to kidnap her," said Greg sadly. Nick wasn't surprised by that finding but everything needed to be check just to be sure.

"What about when she was working in Utah?" asked Grissom.

"I called her former boss from Utah and he agreed to fax over her jacket but he couldn't think of anything that would cause this," said Greg.

"What did you find at the scene?" asked Grissom and Catherine spoke up.

"A stun gun dart, I'm guessing that's how he was able to get her out of the parking lot without a struggle. Trashing her car was just an after thought, I think a pipe of some sort was used. Hodges identified flakes of rust that was on the glass fragments found at the scene. Her purse, cell phone, keys to the car were all found at the scene. But it looks like the ignition in her car was popped so they could turn the car on and lure her out. This wasn't a robbery at all. Whoever did this, it was to get Tatum."

"But why?" asked Grissom.

"She's due in two months, maybe we're looking at someone who really wanted a baby," suggested Riley. "Maybe she met someone at the doctor's office, shopping for baby clothes and they started to stalk her and decided her baby was theirs."

"Possible but normally with these types of kidnappings they tend to wait until the birth mother is closer to the due date or has already given birth. It helps them avoid lots of questions about the birth and the baby won't be so sick. And if that was the case, why leave us a note?" asked Greg.

"Anything from the parking garage cameras?" asked Grissom.

"We have one vehicle leaving the garage about the time Tatum went out to the garage. It's a 1996 four door black sedan. Archie is still trying to get a plate number and figure out which way the car went. We weren't able to get a view of the guy driving the car, the windows were really tinted," said Riley.

"So why go through all this trouble and take her?" asked Catherine.

"I don't know," said Nick. "Mandy is still running the prints we found on her necklace." Grissom looked over at him and frowned but didn't say anything. Mandy knocked on the door before coming into the room.

"I was able to get a hit off the print and thankful it wasn't Tatum's. Um…it belonged to a guy who did some time in a psych ward. Nigel Crane, he was released last month." Nick felt frozen in place and Catherine and Greg looked at each other worried. Grissom's blank face registered shock and Riley looked confused by everyone's reaction.

"Mandy are you sure?" asked Grissom.

"I ran it twice and that's the only print on there," said Mandy.

"How the hell did he get released?" asked Catherine.

"I thought murder was still twenty five to life," said Greg. Riley looked at everyone.

"Can someone fill me in here?" asked Riley.

"About seven years ago Nigel Crane murdered a girl he stalked in her own home and was supposed to be serving a life sentence in a prison psych ward," said Catherine.

"How the hell did he get out early?" snapped Nick.

"You weren't notified either?" asked Grissom.

"If I had been you think I would be this surprised?" asked Nick.

"Did you catch him?" asked Riley.

"He also stalked Nick," said Greg.

_He took Tatum because of me…how the hell does he know about her though? Was he in my house again? In my e-mails and phones calls again, _thought Nick. Grissom went to say something when someone started yelling down the hall.

"JUST GIVE US THE BOX!" hollered Hodges.

"I NEED TO SEE NICK STOKES THIS IS FOR HIM!" yelled another voice. Everyone just looked at each other and headed down the hall. Hodges had taken a box away from the delivery guy and was studying it carefully and security was holding the delivery guy.

"Unless you're Nick Stokes that package is not for you," said the delivery guy.

"Oh shut up," said Riley. Nick looked at the box, it was a plain cardboard box with his name on it and it also read _About Tatum Fritz_.

"Let me take it," said Nick putting on his gloves.

"Nick," started Grissom.

"It's my fault. Anything that happens to her it's my fault and I'm staying on this case and I'm taking this box," said Nick. Grissom nodded and Nick picked up the box and took it into the layout room. He opened the box and found it almost empty expect for a DVD and a slip of paper with a web address.

"Anything?" asked Grissom coming back in the room.

"I don't know," said Nick dusting the case for prints.

"I sent Greg and Riley to check out Tatum's apartment to see if Nigel has been in there and Catherine went to the prison to see how Nigel got released early and how we weren't notified," said Grissom. Nick nodded and found prints and lifted them.

"When were you going to tell me about you and Tatum?" asked Grissom.

"I don't know. I never meant to hurt Tatum or disappoint you." Nick put the DVD in the player and waited.

"When her father gets here I expect you to talk to him," said Grissom. "I expect you to explain the situation to him and your involvement with her. He has the right to know." Nick heard the tone in Grissom's voice and knew he wasn't going to win any argument with him. The DVD started to play and Nick was shocked to see a video of himself and Tatum leaving the group home in Summerlin last month. He had his hand on her lower back and she was sort of leaning against him.

_"Did something happen between you and Stokes before you left the lab? When we first went out for dinner you pretty much told me everything about you before you came to Vegas but you never did tell me who got pregnant and I didn't push it because it was your business and not mine. But…"_ Nick was shocked to hear Alec's voice on the DVD.

_"So what brought on the need to know now?" asked Tatum._

_"It was something Catherine Willows said last night. She told me it was good you were moving on. That you were really hung up on him._" The next shot was of him and Tatum in the parking lot of the dinner fighting and her voice.

_"Ok, here's the deal. Nick and I spent some time together and I think the cliché saying of 'one thing led to another' goes here and we did sleep together and yeah he is my baby daddy. But I felt one way and he felt another and in the end it really didn't mean anything and than I quit the lab and I got to met you and I really like being with you." _ The next shot was of Tatum and Alec in her apartment sitting on her couch. Tatum's head on Alec's shoulder and his hand on her stomach and they appeared to be chatting and happy. Nick noticed that the shot was from above. _He was in her house too_

_"I really mean that."_ Nick paused the DVD and looked at Grissom and reorganized his thoughts.

"The audio sounded odd, you could hear some background noises when they were talking," said Nick.

"You'll have to talk to Alec to see when he and Tatum had that conversation and where," said Grissom. Nick nodded and started playing the DVD again. He balled his hands up when he saw Nigel's face on the screen.

"You don't deserve her!! I know her, better than you or that detective! I know things about her that she never told either of you! You don't have to worry about her anymore. Because I'm gonna take care of her, very good care of her and she won't have you hurting her anymore! I won't let you hurt her anymore!" The screen went black and Grissom looked at Nick.

"He thinks he's in love with her and that makes him even more dangerous," said Grissom. Nick sighed and looked at the web address on the slip of paper. He typed it in quickly and a site popped up with a video link. _Please god let her be ok._ Nick clicked on the video link that read _Come and see for yourself_ and waited.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A light came on above her and Tatum looked up at it and started to pull even harder on her restraints and screamed. _Maybe he came back!_

"PLEASE…PLEASE LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME PLEASE LET ME GO! I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!?!" She broke down into sobbing and kicked the wall in front of her and pulled on the handcuffs in front of her. It hurt her wrists but she hoped foolishly that the restraints would give.

"Don't hurt my baby please! Please don't…."She couldn't stop crying. _Don't hurt my baby._ "Please…let me go!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nick balled his hands in fists and felt a combination of rage, fear and worry creeping in. The video showed Tatum sitting on the floor in what looked like a basement. Her hands were bound in front of her and she looked up at the ceiling and than she started screaming.

"PLEASE…PLEASE LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME PLEASE LET ME GO! I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!?!" She started crying and kicking the wall in front of her.

"Don't hurt my baby please! Please don't…." She kept crying and put her head down and Nick could hear her sobbing. "Please…let me go!" _You bastard! _ Grissom sighed.

"At least the camera keeps going, we can hear what's going on and hopefully we're not cutting off her air supply. The package he sent us, the taunts, the video link he's copying your kidnapping almost to a tee," said Grissom.

"But all the details were kept out of the press how the hell did he get them?" asked Nick. "And why Tatum…why not me?"

"It was never about you remember? You were someone he wanted to become and the only way he could do that was to kill you or kill himself. With Tatum…being pregnant with your child he can without involving you at all. The details on the other hand…someone had to get him out and whoever did had to have knowledge of the department, how we work and access to the case details," said Grissom. Nick looked back at the video on the screen and Tatum was shivering, but she wasn't crying anymore

"Well he's gotten me involved now." _And he's going to be sorry he ever laid a hand on her. Because if Alec doesn't kill him for hurting her, I will. _

Notes-Sorry for the _super long_ delay. Between the holidays, finals and my boyfriend getting new computer games and hogging the PC all the time it took me awhile to write this out.

Hopeful the next chapters won't take so long.

Love it, hate it, review it please.


	13. Truth's we don't want to hear

Truths we don't want to hear

"Someone forged release papers for Nigel Crane a month ago," spat Catherine in disgust. "And I have to admit they are damn good unless you're really looking at them you wouldn't know they were fake. According to the papers Crane was being released to a private mental facility-Sunrise Manor. The facility has no record of being asked to take Nigel or him making it there and with the state ward being so packed no one bothered to check if he got from point A to point B. According to log book someone came and picked him up. John Walden signed him out. No one named John Walden has ever worked at Sunrise Manor and since it was a month ago I have to wait for the tapes to see who took him out."

Nick sighed and rubbed his temple, Greg and Riley were working Tatum's apartment to see how Crane got in and to see if he had left anything at her apartment. Grissom was with Archie trying to figure out how to location of where the web cam was being fed from. Catherine had just come back from the prison where Nigel had been until last month and showed Nick the release papers. _Why…why go through all this trouble to get Crane released? _Nick looked at the papers and had to admit they were damn good forgeries and it made his head hurt even more. _We have no clue who got him out or why. We don't know where Nigel is and considering what he did to Jane Galloway Tatum is lucky to still be alive right now._ She had been missing for almost six hours and other than the feed they didn't know anything. _She's been in that hell hole alone for six hours now and who knows if he's going to come back or if he's just watching her suffer for amusement._ When Nick left to get Catherine's report it looked like Tatum had fallen into some fitful sleep.

"Maybe Archie can run some comparison on the documents. If this guy works for us or has forged stuff before he should be on file," suggested Catherine. Nick nodded and Catherine put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey she's tough. She's gonna be ok and we're gonna get her out of this." Before Nick could say anything to Catherine, Judy poked her head into the door.

"I'm sorry to brother you but you have a visitor in the lobby Nick."

"Tatum's father?" asked Nick. He was still trying to figure out what to say to her father. According to Grissom he was on a flight coming back from a base in North Carolina and was due with in the hour.

"She's says she's your sister. Emily?" asked Judy. Nick wasn't expecting Emily in town at all; she was supposed to be at the ranch with the rest of the family for Christmas. Why the hell was she here now, her timing couldn't be worst. Catherine looked at Judy.

"He'll be out in a minute to see her." Judy nodded and headed out. "Did you know she was going to be here?"

"No…I really don't know why she's out here. I can't see her right now Cat..." Catherine cut him off.

"She doesn't know about Tatum?"

"My whole family doesn't know about Tatum," said Nick. Catherine sighed.

"Nicky hiding it wasn't going to make it any better or make it go away."

"You think I don't know that!" snapped Nick.

"I think you don't know what the hell you're doing and if you care about her the way I think you do you need to start owing up to it. Starting with your sister in the lobby, I'll take these to Archie." Catherine got up and took the papers. Nick sighed and headed out to the lobby to see his sister. _Of all the times for a visit she picks now._ Than again of all the Stokes' children Emily had always been the odd one and calling before a visit was just for normal people, not Emily.

She was a year older than Nick but they may have lived in totally different worlds. Emily was the black sheep and always had been. She got in trouble, went to school with hangovers but still managed to get good grades and had broken the tradition of going into law enforcement like the rest of family, skipped off to med school in the east and lived in Detroit treating gang bangers and drug addicts has an ER doctor. She had been married and divorced and was on her second marriage. Of all his siblings he fought with Emily the most growing up, but she was the one who was able to convince his parents to go home after his kidnapping and that he was going to be ok.

He went into the lobby and saw Emily sitting in the lobby flipping through an out dated magazine. She had gone blond since he saw her two years ago at a 4th of July cookout and was also sporting a nose ring. _God lord Emmy. _She looked up, spotted him and grinned.

"I thought I was the only one who used work to get out of holiday functions. I'm trying to avoid Mom and the rest of the Bart Pack for a few more days and thought I see how the baby workaholic is. You look like shit," said Emily bluntly and she pulled a cigarette and lighter.

"You can't smoke that in here," said Nick. "You're a doctor don't you know what that does to your lungs?"

"I'm down to three a day so stopping bitching at me. Let's go outside than, you look like you need air." Judy looked like she was trying not to laugh at the exchange and Nick had no choice to follow her outside to talk. If he was going to talk to anyone about what was going on with Tatum it would be Emily who wouldn't and couldn't judge him. They sat down on the bench he had sat on with Alec earlier.

"So how about when you get off shift I take you out to breakfast. My treat, we can gossip about how Laurie got Botox and still looks like shit and how her daughter got caught with pot in a teacher's car."

"Like you were any better at her age," muttered Nick.

"I was smart enough not to get caught big difference." Emily looked at him and frowned. "What's a matter with you? Normally you're a bit more cheerful when insulting me."

"I just…I got a lot on my mind right now and I wasn't expecting to be entertaining anyone right now."

"I can entertain myself thank you very much and seriously you look like shit. What's on your mind?" He didn't know what came over him and he just started blurting everything out to Emily about what was going on with him and Tatum. Her pregnancy, their fights, how she was missing right now and being held hostage by someone who had tried to kill him seven years ago, how he felt about her seeing Alec, how he missed her and how in love with her he was. Emily let him talk and didn't say anything until he was finished. When he finished she pulled out two cigarettes, lit them, started smoking one and handed the other to Nick.

"If anyone ever needed nicotine it's you right now." She took a long drag off hers and sighed. "Well you got yourself in one serious fucked up mess."

"You think?" asked Nick stomping the cancer stick out. Emily shrugged.

"No one said love was easy. No one said life was easy. You got it bad for this girl, but if you really care about her the way you say you do than you need to do one of two things: either let her go and I mean that really let her go to be happy with this Alec guy or spill it and let her make up her mind about how she feels. She sounds like a great girl and when you get her back from this freak just be there for her. But if she picks him don't hold it against her or that baby. She's gonna need someone who understands what she's been through."

"Why is it that woman get all the wisdom?" asked Nick. Emily shrugged and stomped out her cigarette.

"It helps keep us sane."

"Mom and Dad are gonna be pissed when I tell them about this," said Nick.

"So what? It's your life and your decision and her decision about what to do. You two have to live with it them not mom and dad."

"You've never care what anyone thought," said Nick.

"Yeah because it's my life. You've always been so worried about what other people think about you and you stifle yourself sometimes. I was hoping being out here away from the family would break you of that, but I swear you may as well tattoo the nice guy merit badge on your forehead. If you haven't cared about what people thought about you, you would have told people about this thing you had with her and not hid it from everyone, including mom and dad."

_God she was always good with the verbal smack downs!_ Nick went to say something to Emily when Catherine came out.

"Nick we need you inside now," she turned and went inside.

"Duty calls," said Nick. Emily hugged him and Nick got a huge whiff of nicotine and her perfume but he hugged her back away.

"I'll see you later. Just behave yourself and remember what I told you."

"I'll try."

"Bye Poncho and good luck with her," she walked towards the parking lot and Nick shook his head and went back inside. _Maybe she's not such a bad older sister after all._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nick went into the AV room and Catherine, Grissom and Archie were all gathered around a monitor.

"He's back," said Grissom and Nick looked at the screen and saw that Nigel was indeed back in the room with Tatum. Nick watched has Nigel started trying to wake her up and started playing with her hair.

"Come on honey…wake up."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

_She was so tired. She had felt fine a little bit ago, but now her head was pounding and she felt a bit sick. She just needed to go lay down back in the dorm room and she would feel better in the morning. She couldn't seem to find Mike in the crowd at the party and he had the dorm key and she didn't know her way around the campus yet. Damn it. Maybe some fresh air would help and she headed outside. She sat down on the grass outside the house. God she felt like shit, where the hell was Mike? She had flown out here to see him and instead of getting some alone time he brought her to this shitty party where she didn't know anyone and they all were up tight assholes anyway and he just disappeared on her. _

_The headache seemed to be getting worse and she was having trouble keeping her eyes open._

_"Hey," a guy sat down next to her. "Mike's girlfriend right…Taylor?"_

_"Tatum." She was slurring her words. She only had one drink, what the hell was wrong with her._

_"Sorry I really suck with names." Tatum looked at him and she sort of remembered him._

_"You're the RA in Mike's dorm…Robert."_

_"I take it you have a great memory even when hammered. That's gonna come in handy someday."_

_"I only had one drink. I must have caught a bug or something on the way here. Do you know where Mike is? I wanna get some sleep."_

_"I think he's still drinking it up with some of the guys in there. But I can take you back to the dorm. I'm the RA, I can let into Mike's room." Something seemed off to Tatum and she shook her head and went to stand up._

_"I should find Mike and tell him." She almost tripped over her own feet when Robert caught her. She was so tired and she felt herself dozing off._

_"Don't worry honey…I'll take care of it."_

"Come on honey wake up," Tatum felt someone touching her shoulder and she was jerked out of sleep and her nightmares only to remember she was in a real life nightmare with a crazy person who she didn't even know. He gave her the biggest smile when she looked at him.

"Good you're awake. You must be starving." He sat down a bag with something that smelled like spring rolls, she had been craving them like crazy the past few weeks and she could eat a dozen in one sitting. _Alec even got up one night at midnight to get me some._ He pulled some out with some plum sauce, her other weakness and started to put them on a plate for her.

"What's your name?" He looked at her surprised and than gave her that creepy happy grin again. "You didn't tell me before you left."

"You seemed to be in a bad mood and not up for talking. You seem to have calmed down a bit."

"I was just tired…I just needed a nap." He started toying with her hair again and she fought that urge to shiver and pull away. He had to think she was with him on this and that she was quite happy to be here chained to wall.

"Nigel. Nigel Crane. You want a roll?"

"It's kind of hard to eat like this," said Tatum gesturing to the cuffs. _Please, please uncuff me!_

"Just open up," said Nigel holding up a roll. She wanted to bite his hand off but that wouldn't get her anywhere. _Just play it out…make him think your ok with this._ She let him feed her three of the rolls when she told him she was full, she was getting more tempted to bite his damn hand with every roll. He frowned.

"I thought you like these. Do you want something else?" _God if this guy wasn't holding me hostage I would almost feel sorry for him he's so damn pathetic sounding._

"I was eating at the party so I'm full. So um what do you do for a living?"

"Nothing important."

"It's really not fair that you know so much about me and I really don't know anything about you," said Tatum. He scooted behind her and she fought that urge to cringe when he wrapped his arms around her and he kissed the back of her neck.

"Oh there's lot of time to talk about me. I wanna talk about you right now."

"What about me do you wanna talk about?"

"I want to know if you're in love with Alec the way you claim to be?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What the hell is she doing?" asked Catherine watching Tatum take a bit of a roll Nigel was offering her.

"Luring him into a false sense of security," said Grissom. Catherine gave him a look.

"I'm waiting for her to bite his hand off," said Catherine._ Me too, _thought Nick.

"She's trying to make him think that she's along with this," said Nick watching the screen and Tatum trying to talk to Nigel. _Hopeful she does a better job than I did,_ thought Nick recalling how the first and last time he talked to Nigel it almost ended with Nigel almost blowing his head off. _If I had known that keeping him alive would get Tatum hurt I would have let him blow his damn brains out. _Nick started digging his nails into his hands when he saw Nigel get behind her and started kissing the back of her neck and he saw Tatum trying to keep her cool.

"Oh there's lot of time to talk about me. I wanna talk about you right now," said Nigel

"What about me do you wanna talk about?"

"I want to know if you're in love with Alec the way you claim to be?" Nick watched Tatum start biting her lip. Nick could hardly hear anything over the rushing noise in his own head waiting for her answer that seemed to take forever before she spoke up.

"I…I think am," said Tatum quietly. Catherine looked at Nick and he saw the pity in her eyes and before he could say anything Judy came in.

"I'm sorry…Tatum's father is here. I took him upstairs to wait."

"I'll be up in a minute Judy," said Nick taking one last look at the screen before leaving the room.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"That wasn't what he wanted to hear at all," said Catherine.

"Sometimes the truth is the last thing we ever want to hear," said Grissom turning his attention back to the screen.

"I don't think you love him," said Nigel. "If you did you would have told him already." Grissom watched Tatum's face lose all it's color and she started to tear up.

"You know what I'm talking about. You still dream about it…you talk about it in your sleep. You've never told anyone have you? Not even Nick and he was your first since that night wasn't he." Tatum started crying and Grissom had a feeling he knew what Nigel was getting at and that they needed to find her and fast before he really did hurt her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Sir I'm Nick Stokes with the Crime Lab, I'm working on your daughter's case." Nick couldn't help but see how Tatum was a splitting image of this man. They had the exact same shade of red hair, pale skin and his eyes were the same dark shade of blue that Tatum's were when she was stressed out or focused on something. Master Sergeant Wallace Fritz was still in street clothes and the man next to him was in uniform but he introduced himself to Nick has a lawyer for Wallace and the U.S Army. Before Wallace could say anything to Nick the lawyer started talking.

"Do you have any leads on Miss. Fritz's kidnappers?"

"We do…"started Nick before he was cut off by the lawyer again.

"Are they terrorist? If they are our division would be better suited to handle the investigation and secure her release based on the demands."

"Will you shut the hell up and let the boy talk!" snapped Wallace. The lawyer looked down but said nothing.

"The person who kidnapped your daughter is an escaped mental patient and we are looking for her based on some video he sent us…" Nick was again interrupted be the lawyer.

"Are you sure that…"

"Get out," said Wallace.

"Sir I was sent here to…" Wallace cut him off.

"I don't plan on telling him about national security he's trying to tell me about my daughter and by god I haven't been there before when she's needed me and I will not let her down again. You have five seconds to clear out of this private before I make you wish you were back at boot camp!" _I see where she gets her temper too,_ thought Nick. The lawyer nodded and left the room.

"I'm sorry about him. My commander thought it best I brought someone who would keep me on leash."

"I understand but why did he assume terrorist would take your daughter?" asked Nick. Wallace sighed.

"Between me, you and the four walls here…I work in counter terrorism and I have done things for my country that I'm not very proud of but they had to be done. If my daughter was taken by terrorist it could mean a breach of security which is what that little piss ant is worried about. I just want my daughter; my country can go fuck itself right now." Nick took a deep breath and wondered how quick this guy would snap his neck when he explained his role in Tatum's kidnapping.

_Hey the freak that kidnapped your daughter is doing it to get back at me!_

"Sir I need to come clean with you about some things. I was involved with your daughter a few months back and well…"

"You're the guy Tatum hauled home drunk from the funeral?" asked Wallace.

"Yeah." Wallace grinned.

"I called her that night; I was leaving the country and wanted to talk to her before I left. She sounded torn between being pissed off and amused by the whole thing." Wallace took a deep breath and looked Nick in the eyes. "You and my daughter…well I can take a guess, you're the father of my grandchild."

"Yes." Wallace shook his head.

"To be honest, I'm surprised that Tatum let you get that close to her. She hasn't let anyone get _that_ close to her in years." Nick heard the tone in his voice and wondered what the older man was getting at.

"What do you mean?"

"I've let my daughter down before and I've never forgiven myself. She was seventeen and she wanted to go on some college tours. I couldn't go with her because of work; my father couldn't go with her because he was sick. So we let her go alone, she was supposed to meet up with her boyfriend who finished school a year before her and when she went to meet him…"

……………………………………………………………………………………………....

"I want to know if you're in love with Alec the way you claim to be?" Tatum felt her breath catch in her throat and she felt her mind whirling.

_I really care about Alec, he's really sweet and he's really been there for me since day one. Even before we started dating he seemed to be worried about me and god he's bent over backwards for me, he's gone to the doctors with me, baby shopping, midnight food runs. Most guys would run the hell away from this mess like a burning house…not Alec…god what if I don't get out of here and I never see him again? _She thought about the way he mocked a marriage proposal to her and she wondered again if she would have said yes, they hadn't been together that long but he had been there for her the last five months and well the highlight of her days was going home with Alec, having dinner with him, joking with him, going to bed with Alec and the way he held her before they went to sleep. _You know it could be Nick,_ said some little voice in the back of her mind and she shut it up. _I really care about Alec and I like what we have between us._ But there was a part of her that would sometimes poke at her and want her to give Nick another chance and she shut it up quickly and she focused on Alec.

"I…I think am," said Tatum quietly. She felt Nigel pulling on her hair and his mouth next to ear.

I don't think you love him," said Nigel. "If you did you would have told him already." Tatum felt cold all the way to her bones and she tried to keep from crying. _No…oh god he read my journals and he knows. _"You know what I'm talking about. You still dream about it…you talk about it in your sleep. You've never told anyone have you? Not even Nick and he was your first since that night wasn't he."

_I haven't told anyone because it was private and no one needed to know._

"It's private…no one…no one needs to know. It's wrong of you to bring that up," said Tatum through her tears. She felt the freak kiss her neck again and she gave in to shivering.

"I know...don't you think the person you love should know?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"When they called me they told me she was in accident, when I got there, the cops told me my daughter had been assaulted, the doctors told me three hours later she was sexual assaulted. Personally I wished they had just told me the truth to start with that some cowardly little lowlife drugged my daughter, raped her and than left her when she started to get sick on whatever he slipped her. That son of bitch nearly killed my daughter and he never saw the inside of a jail cell because some campus cop ruined the scene. That bastard ruined my daughter. You know what she wanted to do before he…she wanted to dance. She tried out for ABA and Julliard and got into both…but afterward. She changed so much," said Wallace. Nick didn't realize he was holding his breath until he let it out. _Oh honey._

"I honestly think that only thing that kept her sane afterward was Joey. She loved that boy more than anything else in this life." It dawned on Nick what Wallace was telling him.

"She kept him…even after?"

"I told her she could have an abortion, give it up for adoption and that no one would think less of her for it. She told me that she would think less of herself and she couldn't do it, it was a part of her and that the scum bag wasn't getting anymore of her. She was a good mother to him; I don't think any child was loved has much as Joey was."

"I didn't know," said Nick. A part of him had felt it though, that she had been scared to be with him. Not just because they were friends or coworkers, she was just scared in general. _Like knows like._ He had been the victim of sexual abuse and his first couple of times with the opposite sex afterward scared him to no end, but he hid it well and so had Tatum. _If I had known would I have done things differently between us?_

"She's a private person always has been. I'm not surprised that she didn't tell you, just that she let you get so close." Catherine knocked on the door before coming in.

"Nick…we need you back downstairs." He nodded and Catherine left. Nick turned back to Wallace.

"We're going to find your daughter sir."

"I know you will." Nick went to leave the room when Wallace spoke up again. "My daughter hasn't been able to trust very many people since that night. The fact that she trusted you, speaks volumes about you."

"Thank you." Nick left the room and headed back downstairs. _It doesn't matter who she loves what matters is getting her back. She trusted me and really considering everything it means a lot…if I can't have her back, I want her to trust me again. _


	14. Remember this

Remember this

Greg and Riley were back from Tatum's apartment and were running through everything they found at Tatum's apartment or what they didn't find.

"Some of her clothes were missing, some books, her prenatal vitamins and her spare pistol," said Greg.

"There was an empty apartment next to Tatum's which is how he got into the attic and was able to film her and he was all over her apartment. We found his prints almost everywhere," said Riley. Nick wasn't surprised to here that Nigel had been all over her apartment.

"Why take her personal effects?" asked Catherine.

"It shows he doesn't intend to kill her or he's going to keep her for a long time and than kill her," said Grissom.

"Well considering he took her prenatal drugs I'm gonna guess he plans on keeping her alive and cared for…in a manner of speaking," said Greg.

"Any luck with the trace on the webcam?" asked Riley.

"It's a live feed Archie's having trouble trying to pin point it. It just keeps bouncing from one server to the next," said Nick.

"Well considering he went on a food run he's been seen by someone and Archie was able to get a print out of the Chinese place he went to," said Catherine showing them a still that showed the bag clearly. "Wall of China only thirty of them in the area. And I'm still waiting for the prison to send me the video footage of the day Nigel was released."

"So what someone forges so documents to get Nigel released and than what? They just turn him loose and wait to see what kind of hell he causes? I know we don't care about motive but this is weird," said Riley. Greg was looking at a copy of the forged documents and frowned.

"What is it Greg?" asked Grissom.

"The writing…it's really familiar," said Greg.

"Archie is getting ready to do a comparison," said Nick. Greg kept looking at the forms and than he got a look on his face that worried Nick.

"The gun records," muttered Greg.

"What?" asked Grissom.

"The records that showed the gun that was used to kill Warrick was destroyed and the records showing Nigel should be released...they're the same handwriting," said Greg.

"Are you sure?" asked Nick.

"I didn't spend over five hours staring at those documents to not remember them."

"Well Pritchard is dead and McKeen is in jail who the hell forged these?" asked Nick. "Another mole?"

"Why didn't McKeen give them up though?" asked Catherine.

"He needed someone to do his dirty work on the outside," said Grissom looking at Nick.

"Ok so we're looking at another officer. Who though?" asked Catherine.

"I have no idea," said Grissom rubbing his temple. "Ok Catherine get on the phone and get those damn tapes, Greg, Riley divide and conquer on where Nigel bought dinner for Tatum. Nick you're with me." Everyone went off and Grissom looked at Nick.

"I heard you took a pot shot at McKeen before he was brought in."

"I'm not proud of it. It was stupid and now someone I care about is paying for it. Trust me I already feel like shit."

"You should feel like shit," said a male voice. Nick turned around and saw Alec standing there glaring at him. "Thanks for keeping me in loop."

"Detective Norwich," said Grissom putting himself between Alec and Nick.

"I found out your psycho stalker escaped prison and kidnapped my partner and girlfriend," said Alec quietly.

"This isn't the time or place for this," said Nick.

"You're right it's not," said Alec glaring at him. "For we know she's already dead and posed in a bathroom somewhere like that other girl who didn't even know you."

"What happened to her wasn't my fault," snapped Nick.

"Whatever happens to Tatum is though!" _You think I don't know that? _

"Detective Norwich I assure you Tatum is still alive and we're doing everything we can to find her," said Grissom. Alec glared at Nick again.

"How do you know that?" asked Alec.

"Follow me," said Grissom leaving the room. Alec threw another dirty look at Nick and followed Grissom down the hall to AV where Archie still had the video feed of Tatum up. Grissom pointed at the screen. "It's a live feed." Alec looked at the screen in horror.

"Oh god," muttered Alec taking in where Tatum was being held. Nick looked at screen again and saw that Nigel was still with her and had his hands over her bump and Tatum was using every ounce of self control to not snap at Nigel.

_Just hang in there sweetheart,_ thought Nick.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_I just want his hands off me…I want to take the hottest shower possible with Lava soap to get the feel of him off me. _The last time she felt this way was eight years ago when she woke up in the hospital after she had been raped and she couldn't count how many showers she had taken till she finally felt clean.

"I think after you have the baby we should get out of Vegas…nothing good ever happened to me here." He was rubbing her shoulders now and all she wanted to do was scream. She nodded, her brain didn't have any functioning skills for talking to this mad man who had been in her home, knew details about her life that she wished she could forget and now he wouldn't keep his damn hands off her. _How long have I been here? Where the hell am I?_ She looked around the room again and she was starting to feel that there was something familiar about this room and she couldn't figure out what though and it was pissing her off._ How the hell are they going to find me?_

She knew they found Sidle, but they had a freaky miniature to go on, they found Nick but then again they had a web cam on him and…_Web cam!!!! _ She looked up at the light above her and wondered…_would he broadcast this? Why not he's a freak who's admitted to watching me for awhile. Oh god have they been watching me this whole time?_

"What's wrong?" asked Nigel.

"I don't feel good," muttered Tatum. Her headache was coming back and she felt sick to her stomach.

"Come on…keep talking to me," said Nigel.

"Bout what?" It was hard to keep her eyes open, her whole body felt like a dead weight. She felt him pull her close to him and she shivered again.

"Stop that!" snapped Nigel.

"What?" asked Tatum.

"Flinching every time I touch you! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"Could have fooled me," muttered Tatum and he grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled.

"Stop it! Now talk to me," he said quietly.

"I'm tried."

"Too bad I wanna talk to you. Oh yes we were talking about Nick weren't we? About how badly things went between you…"

"God just leave me alone," muttered Tatum. She felt like shit and just wanted to go to sleep.

"I just wanna know why you picked him for your first time…all those years and you pick him for your first time in what eight years?"

"It was dumb…I was dumb…I thought," she started to blackout and he shook her awake. "I thought I meant something. What…what did you give me?" Tatum passed out again and Nigel shook her awake again.

"Stay awake!"

"Can't…I…I've been here before…they were here too…you," It was getting harder to breathe. "What did you give me!"

"Nothing!" lied Nigel.

"I…I….can't…." Now it hurt to breathe.

"You're lying…trying to trick me!"

"No…can't…" _They're not gonna find me…not in time…_She started to hyperventilate. "Can't…breathe!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What the hell is wrong with her!" snapped Alec watching the monitor.

"If he tried to drug her she could be having a bad reaction to it," said Grissom. "Respiratory depression can happen with certain drugs…GHB, rohypnol, chloral hydrate…"

"So we get to stand here and watch her die now," snapped Alec. Nick was trying to think about what Tatum had been saying before she started to lose it.

_"I've been here before…they were here too."_ They who…why had she been there before or was it just the drugs talking? Think damn it, why couldn't he think? He looked at screen again and Tatum was starting to get red in the face and was struggling for air.

_He couldn't breath; the damn light kept turning off the fan that was giving him that little extra bit of air. He was trapped here in this damn plastic coffin with no way out; he was going to die here in this tiny, dark, airless coffin…just like those _

"The girls," muttered Nick.

"What?" asked Alec glaring at Nick.

"She said she had been there before and that _they_ were there too. That room was where the girls who were being trafficked were being held and that's where she is!" Why didn't he recognize it before he had spent hours processing that room. Tatum took each girl out of that room one by one and she talked to each one of them before CPS took them.

"Are you sure?" asked Grissom looking at him.

"I'm sure. That's where he has her!" said Nick. Grissom pulled out his cell phone and called Brass.

"We know where Crane is holding Tatum. Get the SWAT ready and have an ambulance with them." Grissom paused. "She's still alive." The _for now_ was unspoken.

"We'll meet you there," said Grissom hanging up. "Archie keep watching the feed. Nick you're with me," Grissom turned to leave and Alec spoke up.

"I'm coming with you."

"No you're not," said Grissom calmly.

"She's my partner."

"And your girlfriend. You could put her in danger," said Grissom. Alec just glared at Nick.

"And he's not going to…"

"I'm not going to stand here and waste time. She could be dying and needs our help. You wanna have a pissing contest with me do it later," said Nick walking away and towards the garage. Grissom was behind him a moment later.

"If we can't get Nigel to talk to us and release Tatum, we'll need you to talk to him. I hate to put you in this position but we may not have a choice Nick."

"I just want her to be safe Griss. I don't care what I have to do to make that happen," said Nick getting in the car and letting Grissom take the driver's seat. He flipped on the lights, not the sirens though and started to speed through the streets of Vegas. _Just hang in there a bit longer honey…we're coming for you._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

He uncuffed her from the wall and she just slumped against the wall. It was getting harder to breathe.

"Get up," ordered Nigel." Her legs had fallen asleep and she couldn't get up even if she wanted to. He kicked her legs and she moaned.

"Can't," she wheezed. _I'm gonna die here…my baby…_she hadn't felt it kick in hours she didn't know if it was sleeping or had something happened to it. She couldn't remember how he got her out of the garage to here. _Whatever he did that could have hurt the baby._ She looked up at the light above her and wondered if they anyone was watching this. Would they show this to her dad, to Alec, to Nick?

Nigel laid her down and looked at her worried. He didn't mean to make her sick, he just wanted her to go to sleep for a little bit so he could take her somewhere a bit nicer than here. She was losing color in her face, her eyes were starting to glaze over and she was starting to wheeze less.

"My baby," she muttered. Nigel started to pace, she wasn't faking it and he didn't know what to do.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." He knelt down next her and smoothed out her hair. "I don't know what to do." She was gasping for air and her eyes started to roll up in her head.

"NO!" she went still, she stopped moving and breathing. "Tatum…oh please wake up," Nigel hugged her close and cried. He didn't mean to hurt her, he saw how much Nick had hurt her just like he had hurt him and he knew that they were meant to be together.

"I wanted to make you happy." He laid her back down and sat there looking at her.

"NIGEL CRANE! LVPD! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" _How did they find me? _

"WE JUST WANT THE GIRL BACK NIGEL!" called the cops. It was quite for a few minutes and than he started talking.

"NIGEL…NIGEL REMEMBER ME… IT'S ME NICK STOKES….JUST COME OUT NICE AND EASY AND WE'LL TALK OK." Nigel looked over at Tatum's body.

"We'll give him the best he's ever had." Nigel pulled out Tatum's spare pistol and rechecked to make sure it was loaded. "See you soon honey."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"We checked the perimeter and we found a four door black sedan that matches what was on the cameras and the back door has been jimmied open recently," said a uniform who was first on the scene. The club had been closed soon after they finished the investigation and it had been closed. Brass dismissed the officer and Grissom and Nick looked at the building.

"SWAT is getting ready to see if they can make contact with Nigel," said Brass he handed Grissom a bag with some small vials in it. "They found these in the glove box."

"Could be GHB," he said.

"I think they're ready," said Nick. SWAT got into position and the captain got on the megaphone. Nick, Grissom and Brass stood next to him.

"NIGEL CRANE! LVPD! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" he wanted a few moments before speaking up again. "WE JUST WANT THE GIRL BACK NIGEL!" There was nothing.

"Let me try," said Nick. The SWAT captain just looked at him like he was nuts. "I have a history with this guy. Let me try please." The SWAT captain looked at Brass and Brass gave him the ok and the bullhorn was handed to Nick. He took a deep breath and tried to organize his thoughts. _Please let her be ok._

"NIGEL…NIGEL REMEMBER ME… IT'S ME NICK STOKES….JUST COME OUT NICE AND EASY AND WE'LL TALK OK." They waited and heard nothing. Nick went to speak again when the sound of a gunshot filled the silence. _No!!!!_ Nick dropped the bullhorn, drew his pistol and took off towards the building.

"NICK!" ordered Grissom. He didn't care what happened to him, he just wanted her to be ok. The trap door leading to the basement was opened and he ran down the stairs and the hall. The door was locked and he threw himself against it twice before it gave and he looked into the room and went cold.

Nigel was dead, a single gun shot wound to the head, he had a sick smile on his face. _No! _ He was looking over at Tatum who was lying motionless in the middle of the room. Nick didn't care if he ruined evidence, moved the body, or messed up the scene. He went over to Tatum and got down next to her.

"Come on honey," Nick picked her up and cradled her. "It's not your day." He couldn't find a pulse. "Don't you dare quit on me!" Nick put her back down and started CPR. _Don't let her die, please god, don't take her! She doesn't deserve this…not this!_

"Nick…let her go," said Grissom. He ignored him and kept doing CPR. "You can't help her." _No…not giving up on her. She wouldn't give up on me!_

"DAMN IT TATUM BREATHE!" screamed Nick and he started again. Grissom went to pull him away when Tatum drew in a small wheezing breath and twitched.

"GET THE MEDICS!" yelled Grissom. Nick picked her up and felt a pulse, it was weak and almost not there.

"Tatum. Come on Tatum look at me." The medics pushed him out the way and got an oxygen mask on her.

"Respiratory depression. Give me the nikethamide," ordered a medic and his partner dug it out of the kit and injected Tatum. She was wheezing into the mask but her eyes were still shut and her pulse was still weak. They got her on a stretcher and started to wheel her out.

"I'm going with them," said Nick before Grissom could say anything. He followed the medics and they looked at him surprised when he got in the back of the ambulance with them.

"Sir you need to…"Nick interrupted the medic.

"I'm the father of her baby. I'm going with her."

"Come on we need to her and this baby to the ER." They shut the door and took off. Nick reached over and took her hand.

"Come on baby fight!" whispered Nick. The medics were calling orders back and forth, they injected Tatum again and it looked like color was starting to come back to her face.

"ETA six minutes," said the medic who was driving. Nick felt Tatum's hand clench his. He looked back down at her and she was looking at him.

"Hi honey," he said quietly. She closed her eyes again but didn't let go of his hand.

Notes-GHB overdose can lead to respiratory depression and in some cases death. Nikethamide can be used to treat respiratory depression or at least that's what Wikipedia said and I have no medical training other than watching House and Scrubs.

Love it, Hate it, Review it please.


	15. The Broken Hearted

The Broken Hearted

_Come on honey wake up,_ thought Nick. Tatum had been out it for almost sixteen hours and the doctors were worried the longer she was out, the more likely it was for her to have brain damage from not breathing or slip into a coma from the overdose. Nick looked into the room where Tatum's father was sitting by the bed and holding her hand. He hadn't left her side since the doctors agreed to let people be in her room.

He had ridden with her to hospital and waited in the ER while the doctors checked her and the baby out. So far the fetal heart beat was alright but they weren't sure if the baby would be alright once it was born considering the mother was given a near fatal dose of GHB and was now on an oxygen mask. Nick than had to wait for Catherine to finish her physical exam of Tatum and collect her rape kit. _Nigel should be thankful he's dead, because if he did touch her I would have killed him._

He let Tatum's father see her first, _he should see her first. After all that's his baby girl._ Nick had wanted to go in behind her father when he heard Alec behind him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Making sure Tatum's alright," said Nick quietly. Alec glared at him.

"Just…just stay away from her. I was an idiot to think that you were ok with me being with her and that you were alright with me wanting to marry her. You didn't want anything to do with her until someone else wanted her. I actually defended you to Tatum and…" Alec scoffed. "I see how you look at her and I just brushed it off, but to hear you talk about her to Grissom…I'm not an idiot. I know that tone."

"Look Alec I have a history with her. I'm not going away."

"History is all you will ever have her. I know guys like you; you don't care about her at all. The second she needed you; you bailed and she had to pick up all the pieces and keep going."

"I never meant to hurt her and I want to make it up to her."

"You're a god damn black cat Stokes! The only reason she's here right now is because your stalker went after her and did god knows what to her! She almost died because of you and I want you to stay the hell away from her!" snapped Alec.

"She has my son and." Alec cut him off.

"Oh your son? Were you with her when she had the ultrasound and she found out the sex of the baby? Were you with her when it first started to kick? Do you even know what she wants to name him? Her due date? You're a freaking sperm donor not a father!" Nick lost it and he pushed Alec.

"You think I don't know that?! That I haven't been there and I should have?" Alec shoved Nick back.

"God Tatum was right about you, you're an indecisive asshole!" Nick went to grab Alec when Tatum's father got between them.

"I don't know what the hell is going on here and I really don't give a fuck! My daughter is fighting for her life and you two are out here about ready to rip each other head's off. Both of you get out of here and cool off. Come back when you can act like adults!" ordered Wallace. Alec turned and stormed out of the ER and Wallace looked at Nick and Nick sighed and left. He went back to the lab to see if he could help with anything and Grissom ordered him to go home and get some rest that everything was covered. Nick went home but he didn't get much sleep and when he woke up he went right back to the hospital.

He knocked on the door and Wallace looked up at him.

"He's not here yet if that's what you're worried about," said Wallace.

"Actually I'm worried that you're gonna kill me sir," said Nick.

"I can't kill you from here. I'm not armed." Nick came in the room and took the other chair on the left side of her bed." Wallace sighed.

"I don't know what happened between you, my daughter and that other guy and I really don't care to know. I just want her to be happy. Has she been happy?"

"She's says she is, she seems happy. She's a really good detective and she's really good at what she does," said Nick

"All I ever wanted was for her to be happy."

"I know." _I want her to be happy too._ Tatum groaned in her sleep and muttered.

"No…no. Can't keep me here." Nick reached out and took her hand and tried to clam her down.

"She's been talking in her sleep all night. Doctors are hoping it means that her chances of slipping in a coma are slim now," said Wallace.

"I hope so." He held her hand and brushed back some of her hair and noticed Wallace looking at him. _That's right start acting all familiar with her right in front of her dad._

"Sorry." Wallace shook his head and stood up

"I haven't had anything to eat or drink in almost twenty four hours. Would you like anything?"

"I'm fine."

"I trust you to watch her for a few minutes. I'll be back." Wallace left the room and Nick sighed and settled into the chair and looked at her.

"You got to wake up honey; you got to fight…not just for me, or Alec or even your dad. Kid needs a mom you know." She groaned again and Nick felt her grip tighten in his hand. She stirred and looked up at him.

"Hey," said Nick and he wondered if he should get a doctor in here to look at her. She groaned and took her mask off and drew in a wheezing breath.

"Gotta stop…meeting like this." He almost laughed and held her hand tighter.

"You feel alright. You want me to get a doctor?" asked Nick.

"Baby ok?" She put her mask back on and took in some deep breaths.

"Baby's fine they said the fetal heartbeat was good and it didn't appear to be in distress." She took her mask off again before speaking.

"Good. Guy who did this?"

"He killed himself."

"Good," she went to sit up and Nick made her lay down.

"You need to rest now. Let me see if I can get a doctor in here to look at you." He found the room buzzer and rang for a nurse who came quickly.

"Welcome back to the land of living Ms. Fritz. How you feeling?"

"Sore." The nurse started taking her pulse.

"Are you having trouble breathing or any pain when you breathe?"

"A little of both," said Tatum. The nurse nodded and started on her blood pressure.

"You'll have to stay on the oxygen and we may keep you here for awhile to make sure you and the baby are ok."

"He hasn't been kicking are you sure he's ok?" asked Tatum.

"If you want we can do another ultrasound and re check the fetal heart," said the nurse.

"Please," said Tatum. The nurse nodded and went to get the doctor and the ultrasound. Nick squeezed her hand.

"It's gonna be alright."

"Just scared. The last time I felt him kick was at the party and that was…how long have I been out?" asked Tatum trying to put her mask back on. Nick helped her and couldn't help but let his hands run through her hair.

"About a day." She nodded and settled back into the bed. "Good thing you remembered that room. We wouldn't have found you otherwise." Tatum went to say something and the nurse and Dr. Minhi walked in. Nick grinned at her.

"Using Jenna's doctor?" Tatum took off her mask.

"I heard he was the best."

"I hope to live up to the rumors," said Minhi. "You haven't felt it kick?"

"Not for awhile," said Tatum. Minhi nodded and started prepping the ultrasound machine.

"Could be sleeping or…" Tatum interrupted him.

"Could be bad." Minhi looked at her.

"Let's not be negative just yet." Nick moved out of the way so the doctors could prep Tatum. "Ok, let's see what he's up too?" Minhi turned the monitor so Tatum and Nick could look at it.

"You haven't felt any cramping, bleeding, back pain?" asked Minhi.

"No," said Tatum. Nick watched the monitor and didn't realize he was holding his breath until a fuzzy image came up on the screen. _That's my son…he's so tiny!_

"You have a thumb sucker Ms. Fritz. He appears to be alright. If you start feeling any cramps or start bleeding than I would be worried. He's just giving you a bit of a break right now." Tatum smiled at the screen.

"That's all I wanted to know." Minhi nodded.

"Dr. Roberts should be coming on rounds shortly and he'll do your physical. Just try to take it easy for a few days."

"Yes sir." Minhi looked at Nick.

"Keep her out of trouble for me please." Nick smiled.

"I can try." Minhi and the nurse left the room and Nick took his seat back and grinned at Tatum. "So that's…wow. He's tiny."

"It's still cooking," said Tatum. It grew quite between them until Nick picked the conversation back up.

"You never did answer me about being alright?" He took her hand and she shrugged.

"I'm gonna be ok. How did you know about the room, how to find me?"

"He had a web-cam up that was being fed to us live so…"

"You saw everything?" asked Tatum worried. _It freaked me out too. To know that everyone was watching me suffer._

"Almost everything."

"What's almost everything?" Nick sighed and looked at Tatum. _I want her to be happy…that's all I want for her. She deserves that much._

"I just…are you…are you happy with Alec? He's good to you right?" Tatum looked confused for a moment and than she squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

"Yes. I um…I haven't had a lot of relationships and I…I feel really good about what I have with Alec and…you don't have to worry about me. I'm gonna be fine," She pointed at her bump. "We're gonna be fine."

"I know." _Just spit it out…tell her what you want._ "I just…"

"Hey," said a voice. _Oh damn it,_ thought Nick. He looked up and saw Alec standing in the doorway with a thing of flowers. Tatum looked over at Alec and Nick watched her face light up and she smiled at him. _She used to look like that when I walked in to a room, I just never noticed until she was gone._

"Hey," she said. Alec came into the room and gave her a kiss on the forehead and Nick let go of her hand and got out of the chair and Alec took it and Tatum's hand.

"Nice to see you awake," said Alec.

"Nice to be awake," said Tatum. _Just let her go and do it for real this time._

"I'm gonna head out…see if they need any help at the lab."

"Ok," said Alec. Tatum smiled at Nick; she sat up in bed and took his hand.

"Thanks for staying with me and for finding me. I owe you."

"Actually I think we're even. Bye Tate." He let go of her hand and went to leave the room and she called out to him.

"Bye Susan." He turned and grinned at her.

"Always with the girl names." He left the room and looked back to see Alec fussing over her and the look of happiness on Tatum's face. _Just be happy sweetheart._

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

"How's Tatum?" asked Catherine when he came into AV and handed her a soda.

"Awake, alert, breathing on her own," said Nick sitting down next to her.

"With Alec?" asked Catherine.

"With Alec," confirmed Nick.

"Nicky if you…"

"I love her enough to let her go be happy with who she wants to be with and it ain't me. So they finally sent you the tapes?" asked Nick. Catherine sighed and she put a tape in the VCR. She would never understand why the guys on this team would just let good things skip away from them without a fight. _Grissom lets Sara go, Nick let_s _Tatum go. Than again I really have no room to talk, I let Warrick slip right by._

"Ten minutes ago. Only took fifteen phone calls and a warrant later," said Catherine.

"So these are from the day Nigel got out?"

"According to the paper work, Nigel got released at ten a.m. November 12th. Let's see who got him out." Catherine hit play and started fast forwarding till they hit ten a.m. and started watching. _I'm gonna nail the guy who got him out, he helped kill Warrick and he got Tatum hurt and he's gonna pay._ Catherine hit play and they started watching who came and left through the front entrance.

"There's Nigel and…oh my god," said Catherine. Nick couldn't hear anything over the rushing in his head. _That son of bitch!!! Right in front me this whole time and with her! _Catherine was calling Jim and telling him to get over to Desert Palms and make sure that Tatum was alright and to get Alec Norwich into custody as an accessory to Warrick's murder and Tatum's kidnapping. Nick turned and walked out of AV and he made sure his weapon was loaded before heading to his truck.

"Nick! Nick wait up," ordered Catherine coming up next to him.

"Right in front of me this whole god damn time Catherine and with her…using her!" They got into the truck and started speeding towards the hospital. _Don't let him hurt her, please god don't let him hurt her!_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Dad…I'm fine and I'm starving," said Tatum. She was starting to feel a lot a better and was sitting up in the bed and her mask was off and sitting on the bedside table. Her father grinned and kissed her on the forehead.

"Let me guess you want bagels with chocolate cream cheese," said Wallace.

"Know me too well." Alec shrugged.

"You are kind of set in your ways," joked Alec.

"Bite me."

"Not while I'm here," said Wallace. "I'll be back in awhile." Wallace left the room and Alec shut the door, took a seat on Tatum's bed and took her hand.

"I was worried about you…didn't think I was gonna see you again," said Alec. She squeezed his hand.

"Me too. I…I really love you Alec." He grinned at her. _I really do and I want this to work between us, it's good what we have and when I thought I wasn't going to see you again…let's not even go there._

"For reals?"

"Totally," said Tatum.

"First time you've ever said that to me," said Alec.

"Not cheap words with me. I only say it if I mean it and I really mean it. I love you Alec." He brushed back some of her hair and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too and I'm very sorry." Tatum raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry about what? It wasn't your fault about what happened." Alec leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"I'm sorry that Nigel didn't kill you…because now I have too." Before Tatum could react Alec was pinning her to the bed and had both his hands around her throat and started to choke her. She couldn't push him off her and started to see black spots in front of her. _Why…why…I…I loved you…my baby…how could you do this to me?_ Suddenly there was a bang, some yelling and the pressure was off her throat and body and she was able to draw in air. She felt someone put the oxygen mask back on her.

"Just breathe," ordered a voice. She opened her eyes and saw that Grissom was next to holding the mask and Jim Brass had Alec pinned the wall and was cuffing him.

"You alright?" asked Jim and she managed a nod. _I'm not ok though! Not at all! _She looked at Alec and he was glaring at her, she only saw him look at suspects like that and it sent a shiver up her spine. _Why…I thought…Why?_ Jim got Alec out of the room and Grissom eased the mask away from her face.

"We're gonna need you to come with us after the doctor makes sure you and the baby are alright," said Grissom. Tatum nodded.

"He…he tried to kill me…"

"I know."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Catherine answered her phone when they got four blocks away from the hospital.

"Is she alright? Ok…Ok. We'll turn around and meet you at the PD." Catherine hung up the phone.

"Go back to PD, Alec is in custody and they're bringing Tatum to PD too."

"Why?" asked Nick running a red light and ignoring the horns that honked.

"Alec attacked her but Grissom and Jim got to her and the doctors say she's ok." Nick's hands gripped the steering wheel and made a U-turn and headed back to PD.

"Nicky?" asked Catherine.

"She told me she loved him and he does this to her." Catherine sighed; she didn't know what to say. "I just wanted her to be happy."

"I know Nicky." They pulled up to PD and headed inside.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I think we're done," said Riley putting the camera away. Tatum nodded; they had to take pictures of her neck for evidence. Greg sighed looking at Tatum and just wanted to hug her. She looked like hell and had been through hell for less than twenty four hours. _First she gets kidnapped by a crazy guy and than her boyfriend tried to kill her. All someone needs to do is pour sugar in her gas tank and I think her day would be set._

"Hey Riley I think I can finish this up. Can you take the film to get processed?"

"Sure." Riley took the camera and left the room. Greg pulled a chair up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"This is going to sound dumb but I have to ask if you're gonna be alright." Tatum shrugged and Greg shook his head.

"We're gonna get a hold of your dad and have him take you back to the hospital."

"Who's questioning Alec?" asked Tatum.

"He's being questioned by Grissom and Brass."

"I wanna know why."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Greg.

"If Jenna tried to kill you wouldn't you want to know why?" asked Tatum.

"Grissom will put my head on a plate."

"I won't tell him, but I have the right to know why." Greg sighed and motioned to her to follow him. He took her down the hall and other officers stopped and stared at her like she was a freak of nature.

"Just ignore them. They did the same thing to me when I came back after I got beat up," muttered Greg. He took her into one of the attached viewing rooms and sat down next to her.

"Thought you didn't wanna get in trouble," said Tatum.

"Just because you're not a CSI anymore doesn't mean we're not friends and you need one right now."

"Thanks Sanders." Alec was sitting in the room by himself and the door open and it wasn't Brass or Grissom who walked in. _Nick._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"He's not talking and he's asking for a lawyer," said Brass looking at Nick. He was surprised he hadn't torn the place apart yet looking for the detective to take his head off or to find Tatum.

"However we did some digging. Norwich is his mother's maiden name, guess who his step father was," Grissom handed Catherine a file and she flipped it open.

"Jeff McKeen…son of a bitch. I didn't know." muttered Catherine.

"I knew he had a step kid, but I didn't know it was Alec," said Brass.

"Where is he?" asked Nick. Grissom eyed Nick and than looked back at Brass.

"Nick. Are you sure it's a good idea for you to talk to him?" asked Grissom.

"I don't care." Brass went to say something when Grissom spoke up.

"He's in room six." Catherine and Brass both gave Grissom a look as Nick walked down the hall.

"If he kills him it's your fault," said Catherine.

"I wouldn't blame him if he did," said Brass.

"Nick's better than that," said Grissom.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nick went into the room and Alec was handcuffed to a chair, another officer was standing guard across the way. Alec looked up at him and smirked.

"Hello cowboy." Nick sat down across from him.

"Why?" Alec leaned back in the chair.

"Why what? Why did I forge the gun records? Why did I get Nigel out? Why is the sky blue? Why did I try to kill the Jew? Come on Stokes, be specific."

"Everything." Nick wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and strangle him for what he had done, but he knew he would get nothing out of it and would be no better than Alec or McKeen.

"Oh really do I need to tell you why, thought you CSI didn't care about motive. Let's talk about something interesting, why don't we compare notes about Tatum? You slept with her too right…she's quite vocal isn't she?"

"Alec…"

"Great lay. Even seven months pregnant that girl can make you beg for it. Never thought I would have a MILF fetish till her." Nick started digging his nails into his hands and Alec kept talking.

"For someone who hasn't let a man touch her in years she's damn good. Think her rapist enjoyed her…maybe he taught her a few things. Oh did you know about that? It's in her personal file. Actually I got a copy of the police report from a friend of mine out East, pictures too." Nick stood up and grabbed Alec by the collar.

"Shut up about her!" he hissed. Alec grinned when Nick released him.

"Oh did I touch a nerve?"

"More than one! Now tell me why!"

"When Tatum left CSI, he asked me to keep an eye on her. He saw how close you were to her and since she was the original on Warrick's case he was worried that she would tell you something that would give you a hint. And I kept a very good eye on her…but you and the Scoobies figured it out anyway. You tried to kill the only father I've ever known, who got me my career and when he asked me to get back at you I didn't hesitate for a second. I knew about your stalker and that if he got a chance he would do the work for me."

"But he kidnapped Tatum instead," said Nick.

"Yeah…damn crazy people don't do anything right for you even when you point them in the right direction. But I got back at you in my own little way. Seeing that look on your face when I was with Tatum was worth it, that little pathetic lost look. Like someone was kicking a dog. You want her back you can have her. Other than the sex, she's not worth it. You should know that, you double tapped her and split right. Think Nigel taped me banging her, think they'll show those when this goes to a jury. Maybe you can get a copy?" Nick sighed and shook his head.

"You make me sick. Why did you try to kill Tatum?" _This guy is a freaking nut job._

"Being with your leftovers made me sick. So we're even and who knows what that crazy told her…he could have told that I got him out and she could have forgotten and I really couldn't risk that. She needed to go," said Alec. Brass came in and looked at Alec in disgust. .

"We're moving you to holding till your lawyer gets here." Brass made Alec stand up and they took him out into the hallway when Tatum came out of the viewing room with Greg behind her. Tatum looked at Alec and he smiled back at her.

"Hi sugar," mocked Alec. Nick hated the look on Tatum's face. It was one of total hurt and loss. _She had that look on her face at Greg's wedding when I wanted to talk to her._

"I just…did I….even for a _second_…did this mean anything to you or was it all a lie?" Alec shrugged and gave her a grin.

"You said it yourself, 'you're damaged goods' who the hell in their right mind would want to be with you?" She nodded in agreement and she wiped her eyes.

"I did say that and I'm also gonna say this." She balled up her hand and punched Alec in the face. Nick thought her heard his nose break and it started to bleed.

"As the song goes…'if I'm leaving with a broken heart, you're leaving with a bleeding nose.'" Tatum turned and started running down the hall.

"Crazy fucking bitch," spat Alec.

"Sucks to be you," said Brass and he hauled Alec towards the cells.

"You gonna stand here or go after her?" asked Greg. Nick snapped out of it and went down the hall after Tatum. He found her standing outside in the parking lot rubbing her right hand. Nick came up behind her and touched her shoulder.

"Tate…" She jumped about six inches and turned around and was near tears.

"Don't touch me! Just…don't. Ok?" _Oh baby._ She looked like a sacred rabbit and his heart went out to her.

"Let me see your hand. You could have hurt it." Her hand was already starting to bruise and turn purple.

"It's fine. I'm going back to the hospital they'll look at it there."

"Tatum…" She shook her head and looked away from him.

"So stupid. I was so damn stupid to think that it was gonna work. I let myself have the expectations that it would and look where it gets me." She wiped her eyes again and scoffed. "Figures that the damaged attaches the damaged." _God is that what you think of yourself has damaged goods?_ Nick put a hand on her shoulder.

"That's not what you are." She took his hand off her and just looked at him blankly.

"Your right…I'm just someone to use also. Alec used me…he used me to get to you and you…I don't know what you used me for and I know you didn't mean to, but you did and I thought it was gonna be different with Alec and in the end it's all the same. It's just lies and I don't mean anything." It was like watching someone drown and not being able to help. She was on the verge of tears and all he wanted to do was pull her to shore and tell her that she meant everything to him.

"Please listen to me for a second," said Nick.

"I just wanna be alone right now kay," said Tatum. Nick went to take her hand and she pulled away. "God damn it why won't you leave me alone when I want be alone but you're nowhere to be found when I need you!"

"You need me now." Tatum turned and saw her dad coming into PD.

"No I don't I need to be alone now…just leave me alone." She wiped her eyes quickly and ran to her father's car and Nick was frozen in place. He watched them pull away and he wiped his own eyes and headed back inside.

Notes

The song Tatum was referring to when she punched Alec was called Cheating by Jettingham.

Love it, Hate it, review it

Thanks to everyone who has review me and added me to their alerts and favs lists.


	16. Burning up

Burning up

New Year's Eve

Elizabeth Rhoads or Lizzy to her friends hated her job at the Gas and Sip. She hated the location; right on the outskirts of Vegas almost in the desert, she hated the hours. (6 p.m till 3 a.m.) and she hated the fact that she had to work almost every New Year's Eve for the past four years in a row. All her friends were partying on the Strip and here she was staring at the ceiling. She hadn't had a customer since 8 p.m and it was about thirty minutes till midnight. She promised herself that she would stick to her resolution this year of finding a new job with less shitty hours and maybe getting the occasional holiday off.

She reached into her purse to get her nail polish when the door opened. Lizzy sat up and took notice of the woman who came in. She looked like hell to Lizzy, her bright red hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, she had deep dark bags under her eyes and it was clear to Lizzy that the woman was very pregnant and heading right for the liquor section of the store. She was grabbing the good shit too, rum Bacardi 151. She grabbed more then eight bottles and put them in a basket, headed to the freezer section and got a pint of Ben and Jerry's along with a spoon at the lunch counter and headed up the counter.

"I need to see your ID," said Lizzy. The woman sighed and pulled out a driver's license.

"Tatum?" asked Lizzy.

"You wanna see my PD Badge instead?" snapped the woman. _Damn preggos are moody!_

"It's different," said Lizzy quietly ringing the woman up.

"I also want twenty on pump six," said Tatum looking outside at the car. Lizzy let her gaze wander outside. _Sweet ride!_ It was bright red mustang that looked brand new. Her boyfriend was a car junkie and would know what year and who made it, to Lizzy a car was car. Lizzy finished ringing the woman up and she paid with her credit card and went outside. Lizzy watched her put the gas in a gas can and drive off. _Maybe she's going to a party and someone ran out of gas._ Lizzy had stopped trying to figure out the customers years ago. _Twenty minutes till midnight!_

She flipped on a TV they had behind the counter and started watching Carson Daily. She started painting her nails at ten minutes to midnight and they started to dry with five minutes to go. When the ball dropped at midnight, Lizzy heard what sounded like an explosion from across the road. She ran outside and saw a car on fire across from the gas station. She looked harder and saw the pregnant woman sitting away from the car, eating her ice cream and watching the car burn.

_Crazy ass preggos!!!_ Thought Lizzy as she called the police and fire department.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_All I wanted to do was clean the apartment; I just want my home back!_ She dumped bottle number two over Alec's clothes in the backseat of the car and threw the empty bottle on the floor of the car and started on bottle number three for the front seat. It really had started has a simple house cleaning project. She had been home for about a week now; they put her on paid leave until she got cleared by the LVPD shrink to come back.

She had been made to stay at in the hospital for another couple of days to recover and she made it point to have her room moved and requested no visitors other than her father. She really didn't want to see anyone, really what the hell could they say. _Hey sorry that your boyfriend was a total psycho! But tomorrow is another day! _Her dad had tried to talk her into seeing people once she got home.

"Ronnie called for you again sweetheart," said Wallace poking his head into her bedroom. She was curled up in bed and was trying to sleep. She hadn't slept in almost two days. She wrote in her journal, she watched TV, played endless games of Gin with her father, surfed the web and she still couldn't sleep.

"I told her you were resting." He came and sat down on her bed and patted her head. "You need get some sleep honey."

"Can't sleep."

"Nightmares?" It was more than just nightmares; she couldn't close her eyes without seeing either Nigel Crane grinning at her or Alec's death glare. She had found out that Nigel had been using her attic to spy on her and it made sleeping here even harder. Her father sighed.

"I have to fly out the day after tomorrow sweetie. I have an assignment." Tatum nodded. She knew what he really did and that his cover was being a contractor, all the family members of Delta Force knew and the role they played was keeping the cover.

"I'm sorry I have to leave. Maybe you could come out to North Carolina for a bit. The job should only take a few weeks and than maybe we could spend some time together, just us. Get away from the madness for a bit." She shrugged and she heard the defeat in her father's voice.

"Sweetie don't let them do this to you."

"Do what?"

"Break you like this." _Too late for that._ "I know it sounds far fetched now, but in the end you're better than this and…" he trailed off and she felt him get off the bed. "Try to get some rest. I'll make you some dinner." He left the room and she pulled the covers closer to her and tried to sleep and she just kept seeing that look of hate Alec kept giving her.

Before her father left two days ago, she had managed to doze off for a few hours here and there and now she was wide awake again. Now he was gone and she was all alone. She started picking up dishes that were leftover from last night's dinner and put them in the sink and realized that her father was a horrible house keeper not to mention that Greg and Riley had been here and there was print dust all over the place. She started cleaning, _out with the bad, in with the good._ It made sense at the time and she tore the apartment apart. She dusted, she swept, she mopped, she took every dish out of the cupboards and washed them by hand and cleaned the cupboards. She threw out almost two bags of trash and filled another bag for Goodwill.

She was dusting the DVD's when she found the first thing Alec had left here. _American Pie 2._ They were having a night in and were watching bad comedies. She looked at the DVD for awhile and than she opened the case, broke the DVD and threw it and the case across the room. It was down hill from there, she found CD's he had left in her stereo and on the coffee table. She threw them in a bag. She went into the bathroom and found his bathroom stuff-toothbrush, razor, shaving cream and shampoo. She threw them in a bag and started on the bedroom and it got even worse.

His clothes were in her closet, in her dresser. She threw them in a bag. The sheets. He had been in her bed, that's why she couldn't sleep in it. Tatum tore the sheets off the bed and in the bag they went. The picture of them from Greg's wedding went in the bag; the present she had got him for Christmas went in the bag. Anything that reminded her of Alec went in the bag.

_I need to get rid of this, I want him out of my home, I want him out of my life._ The dumpster company came yesterday and it would be sitting in the dumpster for a week and she couldn't stand the thought of it being so close to her. She wanted it gone now. Tatum started looking for her car keys and realized that her car was still being repaired and she was stuck here.

She looked on the counter and wondered how the hell she missed them. Alec's car keys. He had driven here and than they took her car to LVPD Christmas party. She looked outside and there was the red mustang, a 2008 Ford mustang. He loved that damn car, he told her it was the first brand new car he ever had. She picked up the keys, grabbed the bag, her coat and purse and headed out. It became her all consuming thought, _Get rid of his shit!_ Where though, it didn't dawn on her how late it was or that it was New Year's Eve.

_I just wanna get rid of the shit…god how do I get of rid it? _She stopped at the stop light and she looked over and saw a guy in the next car playing with a lighter and something just clicked her head. _Burn it…Just torch the shit to ashes!_ She remembered Alec kept matches in the glove box for some unknown, retarded reason. She reached over and found at least three match books there. It made sense in her mind at the time to burn all his shit. Where though…the desert. No one was around, no one would get hurt. How? She drove up to a Gas and Sip and popped the trunk of Alec's car and found an empty gas can. Gas would burn but it just didn't seem enough.

She went inside and spotted the liquor section: alcohol burned. Back in Utah a group of kids would start fires with booze just to see what would happen. One that went really bad happened with 151 and it brunt down a barn. She started grabbing bottles.

_How many do you need?_

_How many will it take to torch a car?_ Burning the car hadn't crossed her mind until just then. He loved that car; he probably cared more about that car than her. She grabbed about ten bottles and decided that she was going to stay and watch the car burn.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

She threw the empty bottle on the floor and started on bottle number four for what she may have missed for the backseat. Bottles five and six went in the trunk's interior, bottle seven for the front seat; bottle eight was the back seat again. Bottles nine and ten she opened and dumped on the body of the car. She took the gas and dumped it on the body of the car too and threw the empty gas can in the backseat. She grabbed one of the rags from the trunk and stuffed it in the gas tank. She pulled the matches out of her pocket and lit the rag and than tossed the match into the backseat and it went up quickly. She took another match, tossed it in the front and it went up. She lit the matchbook on fire and tossed it on the hood of the car. She walked away from the car and sat down with her ice cream-Ben and Jerry's Phish Food and started to eat it. When the gas tank blew the car up at midnight she couldn't help but smile to herself. _Take that you son of a bitch!_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hey Tatum, its Ronnie. I just wanted to wish you a happy New Years and I hope you're ok and to see you around next week after you clear the shrink. Later." Ronnie hung up her cell phone and sighed.

"Still no answer?" asked Wendy pouring herself some coffee.

"Nope, I tried her home and cell and left messages on both. Nothing. I hope she's ok," said Ronnie sadly.

Nick looked up from his files at the break room table. Ronnie had been trying to get a hold of Tatum since the whole mess came out with Alec and hadn't had any luck She and a group of lab rats had tried to see her in the hospital and were told that Tatum wasn't seeing any visitors and every time Ronnie tried to call her she was told that Tatum was sleeping or no one would answer the phone. Nick couldn't bring himself to call her; he froze each time he picked up the phone. _Coward_ he told himself.

"How do you think she's doing?" asked Henry.

"Well considering her boyfriend went all Billy Loomis on her, I'm gonna say she's pretty heartbroken and pissed off," said Mandy.

"Who?" asked Nick

"Billy Loomis the killer from Scream. He tricked Neve Campbell into being his girlfriend so he could get close to her and than killed her mom, all her friends and tried to kill her too…yeah Alec is a step below that," said Mandy noticing the look on Nick's face.

"I'm just gonna go over there tomorrow and knock on her door till she lets us in," said Ronnie.

"I'll join you on the cheering up committee," said Henry. The lab rats made plans to meet up and see how Tatum was doing with Ronnie. Nick kept his mouth shut and soon the rats trickled out and he finished the paper work and went to turn it into Grissom and get his assignment for the night. He was rounding the corner when Brass and Grissom nearly ran into him. Grissom was on his cell phone and didn't stop talking.

"Just calm down Helen. We're on the way there and we'll take care of it." Grissom hung up the phone and gave Nick a look.

"He's coming with us," said Brass.

"Where?" asked Nick.

"Drop off the files and come with us now," said Grissom in the tone the meant no arguments. Nick went down the hall and tossed the files on Grissom's desk and went back to the two men.

"What the hell was she thinking?" asked Brass quietly.

"I don't think she was Jim. She's been under a great deal of stress and…"

"So she sets his fucking car on fire in the middle of the desert Gil!"

"What?" asked Nick.

"We'll talk on the way," said Grissom. They headed quickly out of the lab. Brass took the driver's seat, Grissom the passenger seat leaving Nick to take the back.

"So where's the fire?" asked Nick.

"Hopefully it's been put out by now," said Brass dryly. Grissom sighed and looked at Nick.

"Tatum." Grissom took a deep breath. "She set Alec's car on fire outside of town."

"Is she alright?" asked Nick.

"She set a car on fire! She is clearly not alright!" said Brass.

"Physically she's fine," countered Grissom. "But she's not talking to the officers or to the fire department about what happened. Helen is asking us to smooth things over a bit so they don't arrest Tatum." Nick bit back a groan, what the hell was she thinking?

"Have you talked to her since Alec was arrested?" asked Grissom.

"Not really." _Other than telling me to leave her alone. _Grissom sighed but said nothing and Brass hit the gas a little harder. They were all quite until they got to the scene.

"I'll talk to the fire captain," said Brass and he looked at Grissom. "Try to work something out with the first officer." He turned to Nick. "You talk to the fire starter and try to get something out of her."

"She's not gonna talk to me Grissom," said Nick.

"You know her better than we do." Grissom shook his head. "Nick she is clearly screaming for help at the top of her lungs and I don't know how to help her, Jim doesn't know how to help her and no one else here is going to understand her but you." Nick nodded and got out the car. Brass and Grissom followed and were approached by the head fire captain and the first officer. Nick looked to see the torched out remains of a car and firefighters still putting out some hot spots.

"She torched his baby good," said the fire captain. "She bought gasoline and alcohol according to the clerk at the gas station over there."

"Well he torched her really good," said Brass. "Where is she?" The first officer pointed to his car where Tatum was sitting in the back seat.

"I haven't arrested her yet I just wanted to get her out of the way."

"CSI Stokes is gonna talk to her is that alright?" asked Grissom.

"Good luck! She hasn't talked to anyone since we got here but I don't wanna have to arrest her for arson," said the officer.

"Just give me a few minutes with her," said Nick. The officer nodded and Nick headed to the car and got in. Tatum gave him a sideways glance and continued eating her ice cream.

"Hey," said Nick quietly. She didn't answer him or even look at him. "So Happy New Years." She gave him another sideways look but said nothing. God she looked so far away lost. _God I don't know if I can help you, I don't know where to start._

"You know that setting a vehicle on fire is illegal within city limits. You can only burn trash in a barrel," said Nick.

"Than I didn't do anything wrong. That's all trash," said Tatum.

"How did you plan on getting home from here?" asked Nick.

"The bus…I was gonna find a hotel room I can't go home anyway." She poked at the pint of melted ice cream violently and Nick took her hand and made her look at him.

"Why?"

"It…it doesn't feel right anymore. I…they were in my home and I just don't…I can't be there."

"That why you set the car on fire?"

"Punching him in the face wasn't as gratifying as I thought it would be. He really liked the car and his shit was all over my apartment so I got rid of all his shit. For good."

"You feel better yet?" asked Nick.

"Not really," said Tatum softly. Nick squeezed her hand and went to say something when Brass opened the door.

"You were not here Tatum understand. We don't know who that car belongs to, vin number is burnt off entirely, license plate is trashed, and all the paper work that belonged to the car is gone. But I'm not letting you go home or anywhere alone tonight. Nick you take her home and watch her: Grissom's orders," said Brass. Nick nodded and looked at Tatum.

"Come on," said Nick and he took Tatum's hand and she followed him to another squad car that was going to take them back to the lab so Nick could get his truck. She didn't say another word to him until they got in his truck and started driving.

"Look just drop me off at a hotel and I'll stay there for the night."

"It's New Year's Eve in Vegas. There are no hotel rooms in Vegas," said Nick.

"I will find one. I'm not staying in that damn apartment, it's cursed," said Tatum.

"No you won't. Listen would you mind staying at my place?" She turned and gave him a look. "Just for tonight and than in the morning I'll take you home or anywhere you wanna go ok. It's just for tonight."

"I guess," muttered Tatum looking out the window. Nick hated seeing the look on her face, she looked far away and lost. He didn't know what to say to her, it was like something had been taken from her, she wasn't her anymore. _I wanna help you sweetie, but you gotta let me in._


	17. Battle Scars

Battle Scars

Nick pulled into his driveway and shut the truck off. Before he could say anything Tatum was out of the truck and walking up to the front door. Nick felt defeated, got out of the truck and unlocked the front door to let them in.

"Um…you can sleep in my room if you want. I'll take the sofa."

"Ok." She turned and headed up the stairs.

"Do you want…"

"I just wanna go to bed. Good night Nick," said Tatum and she went upstairs and he heard his door shut hard. _I don't have a fucking clue what to do to help her._ He went into the basement to make up the pull out bed and headed back upstairs to use the bathroom and he walked past his bedroom when he heard Tatum and she was crying. Nick knocked and than opened the door.

"Tate." He let his eyes adjust to the dark and saw that she was curled up on her side facing away from him crying her eyes out. "Tatum." He sat down on the bed next to her and touched her shoulder.

"Just leave me alone Nick!" she sobbed.

"No…I've left you alone for almost seven months now. I'm not going to anymore." He kicked his shoes off and laid down next her. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him until her back was against his chest. She didn't fight him and he felt her shaking and still crying.

_Just let it out sweetheart, let it all out._

"Talk to me honey, please," said Nick. It felt right to be here with her, to hold her like this.

"I'm tried."

"Tried of what?"

"I'm tried of being lied to, of not being able to trust, of being used. At least with you…you didn't look me in the eyes and tell me that you loved me. At least you spared me that much." Nick's hold on her got tighter. _Oh I do love you honey, but you really don't want to hear that right now._

"You know I think the last time someone told me they loved me and meant it was my son. He told me he loved me because I got him a happy meal after karate class," said Tatum. "I just…I don't understand how you can tell someone you love them and than hurt them in the worst way possible in the next without any thought."

"I wish I knew," said Nick.

"It ever happen to you?" asked Tatum.

"A very long time ago."

"What happened?" Nick sighed and took Tatum's hand in his. He had told Catherine once when they were working on a case together about what happened to him when he was younger. "I've told you about my son and I heard Alec tell you that I've been raped. I'm running out of things you don't know about me." He gripped her hand tight.

"I was nine and she was a replacement babysitter."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

1980

"Oh come on," whined Nick. "Just one more game of Pac Man." She ruffled his hair.

"Sorry shorty it's way pass your bedtime." She turned the game off. "Don't wanna get me in trouble now?"

"Nope."

"God you are such a cutie. Someday girls are gonna fight to be your girlfriend."

"You could be my girlfriend," said Nick shyly. He really liked her; she was much cooler than Mrs. Coffins who normally took care of him when both his parents had to do stuff. His dad was out of town for work, his mom and all his sisters had gone to some girly party for church and his brother was staying with a friend. So it was just him and this really cute babysitter.

"You're too sweet. Come on bed." He pouted and headed to his room to change into his Pj's. He was changing into his pants when she walked into the room.

"Hey," cried Nick holding his PJ pants in front of him.

"Oh sorry shorty thought you were done." She looked at him funny and Nick quickly got into his Pj's. "So you want a story?"

"No, those are for babies," said Nick getting into bed.

"Wanted tucked in?" she asked.

"No I can do it." He got into bed and pulled the covers up. She went over and sat down on his bed and kissed the top of his head.

"Sure you wanna be my boyfriend?"

"Yup." She grinned and she kissed his head again, turned off the lights and left the room. Nick rolled over and started to doze off when his door opened and shut again.

"Huh?" asked Nick. She came over to his bed and laid down next to him. Something in his stomach told him this wasn't right but he didn't say anything. She smiled at him and kissed his forehead.

"Ever had a girlfriend before?"

"No," said Nick. Her smile got bigger and she put her hand on his face.

"Never been kissed?" Nick started to feel weird, he didn't know why and he wished his mom would come home.

"No."

"It's ok." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Something in his brain went off telling him this wasn't right at all but he couldn't react. "Boyfriends and girlfriends do this all the time." She kissed him again harder and pulled the blankets away from him.

"I love you sweetie," she said before ruining him.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I never told my mom or anyone about what she did to me," said Nick. Tatum's hand squeezed his. "I felt like I did something wrong."

"You were a baby Nicky. Speaking has a mom; if she had found out she would have killed that bitch twice." He intertwined his fingers with hers and pulled her a bit closer.

"It took me a very long time to let anyone be near me like that again," said Nick.

"I understand...it's scary," said Tatum.

"It wasn't Alec who told me what happened to you, it was your dad who told me." Tatum sighed.

"He told me he would never tell anyone."

"He told me because I told him about us."

"You know I thought being raped was the worst part of everything. It wasn't…it was being called a liar."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

1999

_I just wanna go home; I wanna go home and forget this ever happen,_ thought Tatum pulling a comb through her hair. She had taken her third shower this morning and was waiting for her father to finish talking with the doctors so she could be released and go home. The police had taken her statement three days ago but they hadn't been back to see her yet. _Neither has Mike._ She hadn't seen him since the party and she didn't wanna call the dorm but she wanted to talk to him.

She sat on the bed and tied her shoes. _I just wanna go home._ There was a knock on the door, she looked up and there was Mike. He was holding the overnight bag she had brought with her.

"Hey," he said not really looking at her.

"Hey," she said looking at him. _Why didn't you come see me? I've been here three days._

"I…I got your stuff. Thought you would want it before going home." He sat the bag down on the floor and stood there.

"Thanks." They were quite for a moment before she spoke up. "Police talk to you yet?"

"Yeah."

"What did you tell them?" asked Tatum. Mike shrugged.

"Said we went to a party, we got separated and I couldn't find you. Went back to the dorm and heard what happened through gossip."

"Gossip?" asked Tatum.

"Bad word choice ok," said Mike. It got quite again and he sighed. "Look Tate…why did you get the police in on this?"

"Why…why…why do you think you dipshit?!" snapped Tatum.

"Look I'm not mad at you ok. What ever happened between you and Robert…it happened but you saying he raped you is low. If you're mad at me just say so."

"Mad at you for what!"

"Robert told you what happened between me and his girlfriend and you had revenge sex with him to get back at me!" snapped Mike. Tatum sat there stunned.

"He raped me…because you cheated on me with his girlfriend?"

"You left the party with him," said Mike.

"I don't remember leaving with him! I remember telling him no when he…you don't believe me do you?" asked Tatum.

"I was gonna end it with you this weekend and he told you that and you just wanna get back at me. Rob's a good guy he wouldn't do this. He told me you wanted to leave with him." Tatum felt her heart break.

"I came all the way here to see you, so you could break up with me after three years of being together and for you to call me a liar!" She stood up and pushed him.

"HE RAPED ME TO GET BACK AT YOU AND I'M THE LIAR! GET OUT!"

"Tatum…"started Mike and she pushed him again.

"OUT!!!!" He left only after the nurses were called in to have her sedated and her father threatened to kill him for leaving her alone at the party. She didn't wake up till they were on a plane home.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nick didn't say anything but he pulled her a little closer to him, they were quite for a long time each lost in there own thoughts before Nick spoke up again.

"Why did you let me get close to you?" She shrugged before speaking.

"You didn't seem like all the other guys before and I figured even if we weren't gonna be _together _afterwards we would still be friends. That bit me right in the ass though."

"I'm sorry," said Nick.

"I know." Tatum started to yawn.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Few days ago I think."

"That's not good for you. You need some sleep." Nick went to get up when Tatum gripped his hand.

"This is gonna sound whiny, but could you stay till I'm asleep?" _I just don't wanna be alone right now._

"Yeah." He settled in next to her and held her hand. She was starting to doze off when she felt the baby give her a good kick. _Never fails._

"You know something?" asked Tatum.

"What?" asked Nick, he hadn't been sleeping well the past few days either, he had been worried about her to no end and it was nice to be laying here with her. _You're gonna be ok sweetie._ She took his hand and put it under her sweater and on her stomach. He waited a few seconds before feeling something move against his hand.

"Not fair that everyone else has felt it kick but you."_ Oh wow…that's ours._

"Tatum I…." she was snoring. _Just let her sleep man._ Nick sat up and pulled the covers over her and settled in next to her. He kissed the top of her head and pulled her close.

"I love you Tatum." And he fell asleep next to her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When Nick woke up the next morning Tatum wasn't there and he felt his heart sink. _Damn it why didn't I wake up._ He went downstairs and into the kitchen where Tatum sat with classifieds, a marker and a cup of tea. _She didn't leave!_

"Good morning," said Nick.

"Morning," said Tatum quietly. He poured a cup of coffee and sat down across from her and looked at what she was circling, apartments and houses for rent.

"Shopping?" asked Nick. Tatum shrugged and took a sip of her tea.

"I just…I can't stay in that apartment anymore. Being in that apartment isn't gonna help me get over Alec and that thing with Nigel. Being there is clearly driving me crazy…last night's fire episode was just the start of where my craziness could go."

"Where could it go?" asked Nick jokingly.

"I could start coming into work naked…that would cause people to go blind. Um…I could set more things on fire. I need to work on list." Nick laughed.

"Listen…umm thanks for letting me stay here and listening to me cry like a school girl and well just being there," said Tatum taking a sip of her tea. To be honest she didn't know what to think of where last night put them. _I'm not getting into another relationship, I'm clearly not meant for them._ _But still, we could be friends…friends with a kid but still. It's functional. _

"You've done the same for me," said Nick

"Yeah."

"So where are you going to stay until you find a new place?"

"I really don't know. I'm hoping the tourist will clear out and I can crash at the nearest Holiday Inn for a few days," said Tatum and Nick frowned.

"When I moved here it took me weeks to find this place and aren't you due in…" he didn't know her due date.

"February 21st."

"So you wanna try to move, work, settle into a new place and have a baby with six weeks?"

"No one said it was gonna be easy."

"What if you don't find a place and than you have the baby? You wanna have a newborn in a hotel room for you won't know how long," said Nick.

"Better than a street corner," said Tatum. Nick got up and went to get more coffee.

"How about you stay here for a bit longer?" She turned and looked at his back; she couldn't tell if he was being serious.

"You're kidding." Nick didn't know why he was so nervous and he felt his hands shaking on the coffee pot and was glad Tatum couldn't see how he was trying to keep it together. He reached for the sugar and started dumping in the cup to buy time.

"No, no not kidding. You could stay here until you find somewhere else." _Or until I can get it together and tell you the truth._

"So instead of a hotel bed, I can sleep on your sofa instead. Let me think…king size bed…your sofa…big ass bed soft…your sofa with the broken springs. I'm really torn here Stokes." _You could sleep in my bed._ He added creamer and tried to make his voice sound normal.

"I have an extra room that I could clean out and you could take that. I could have it cleaned out by tonight if you want. It's all crap anyway." Tatum took a sip of her tea.

"I don't know what to say." Nick sat back down across from her.

"Listen Tate…I wanna do this for you. I haven't helped you out the way I should have been for the past few months and really this is the least I could do for you considering how you were there for me after Warrick died and everything."

"It's only till I find another place," said Tatum.

"Ok," said Nick trying not to smile.

"And I'll help out with expenses and stuff. I'm not gonna make you pay for my kosher cookies and green tea," said Tatum.

"Alright," said Nick smiling a bit.

"So I guess that means I should go get some of my stuff."

"Unless you wanna borrow my clothes again."

"I'll call a cab," said Tatum finishing her tea.

"I'll let you drive my truck and I'll start cleaning the room out," said Nick handing her the keys. She took them from him and she tried to ignore that little tingle that she felt. _Not going there again with anyone!_ _EVER!!!!_

"I'll see you in a bit," said Nick.

"Yeah," said Tatum and she headed out. Nick waited until she pulled out of the driveway and started grinning like an idiot. He picked up the phone, went upstairs to start cleaning out the room and he called his mom.

"Hi sweetie, Happy New Years," said his mom when she picked up.

"Hey mom…is dad there?"

"No he's out with your brother and brother in law doing I don't know what."

"I need to tell you something. You may need to sit down."

His mom and dad only screamed at him for about twenty minutes and than Emily picked up the line and told them she was knocked up too and than they went after her and Nick was able to hang up .

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tatum realized when she came back to Nick's house she didn't have a key and she had to knock to get back in. He opened the door and grinned at her.

"Guess we need to get you a key huh?"

"I could always break a window." He took her overnight bag and shut the door behind her.

"Welcome home," said Nick.

"It's good to be home," said Tatum.

Notes-I hope that posting two chapters at the same time makes people happy ; )

Love it, hate it, review it please…I write faster than.


	18. Changing impressions

Changing impressions

February 2009

Nick reached over and brushed some hair off of Tatum's face and she moaned but stayed asleep.

"Hey…hey…Tate."

"Sleeping," she muttered. Nick grinned and shook her shoulder.

"The nurse wants to know if she can bring him in for you to feed him or if you just wanna give him a bottle." Tatum groaned and made herself sit up in bed.

"I'll feed him and than I want you to kill me so that way I really am dead because I feel dead." Nick shook his head.

"I'm not killing you on Valentine's day it's just in poor taste," said Nick.

"Sorry we're not going out for that dinner and movie." Nick settled in to his chair and waited for the nurse to bring his son in.

"It's not so bad."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Two days ago

"Hey you almost finished?" asked Tatum through the bathroom door. Nick was shaving and opened the bathroom door.

"Yeah almost." Tatum grabbed her brush off the vanity and started brushing her hair.

"Just making sure it was cool to come in."

"Didn't we decide on a system of colored hair ties on the door to show bathroom status? I clearly put the yellow one on the door," said Nick drying his face.

"That only works if you remember said system. Forgetting leads to me waking in on you naked when I need to pee." She finished her hair and went back across the hall to her room to get something and Nick followed her.

"One time…it was one time when you first moved in and you know it's not like you haven't seen me naked before." He leaned in the doorway and waited for an answer.

"That was different." She got her shoes on and looked at him. "I _wanted_ to see naked. I _don't_ wanna see you naked at four in the morning when I have to get ready for work, need to pee and you're dripping from a shower."

"Thank you for clearing that up. I was confused," said Nick grinning. Tatum grinned back.

"Oh I forgive you. It's not like you did it on purpose." Tatum left the room and Nick sighed and watched her go downstairs and went to finish getting ready for court. Tatum had been staying here for over a month now, her house hunting was at a standstill for the time being. Nick had hoped it would start turning into something else over time. He realized that she just needed time to see that he wasn't going to screw her over again and that he really did care about her. _Baby steps,_ he told himself,_ just give her time._ Even though he would never admit out loud, he was a bit happy that she hadn't found anything yet; he enjoyed having her staying her with him.

_I just really like her being here; something just feels different with her being here. I have something to come home, to look forward to at the end of the shift._ It was nice to have one stable thing still in his life, Grissom had left CSI at the end of January to go be with Sara, or at least that was everyone hoped. Now Catherine was his boss again and he had taken up Catherine's old post and was in the process of helping train the newest member of the team that despite having a hard time adjusting wasn't doing to bad and was starting to fit in.

He came downstairs and saw a cup of coffee was waiting for him along with some toast. Tatum was flipping through a file sipping her green tea.

"You don't have to have that memorized," said Nick sitting down across from her.

"Doesn't hurt to study before the test," said Tatum.

"Trust me that guy is going away forever." They were going to court for Lana Chekhov today, Nick was supposed to testify on Lana's death and Tatum was supposed to testify on what Lana and the other girls had gone through.

"He has a really good lawyer." She went to flip another to another page and Nick took her hand and looked her in the eyes

"Hey, you're better than his lawyer." He noticed a faint blush and she grinned.

"Now I see how you get all those convictions. You are quite charming when you wanna to be. So do you have a guess for today or do you forfeit?" asked Tatum. Nick grinned it was a game they had started playing. He had asked her what she wanted to name the baby and she wouldn't tell him.

"Guess?" she told him and he had been guessing every morning since and wasn't getting anywhere.

"Oh let's see…think I'm in the F's…Freddie." Tatum made a face.

"No."

"Fynn."

"No."

"Floyd."

"Where do you come up with these names?" asked Tatum finishing her tea.

"The baby name website."

"Well you have maybe another week of guessing and than all will be reveled." She put the file away in her bag and they finished getting ready for court and decided to take Nick's truck to court. They were quite and listening to the radio when they got about half way there when Nick spoke up.

"So um…I have this weekend off and if you're free this Saturday if you would want to go see a movie or something?" Tatum looked over at him.

"Like a date?" _Baby steps…baby steps…_

"No…no just wanted to see if you wanted to go with me to movies."

"On Valentine's day?"

"We could just be two friends who go see a movie and maybe a dinner on Valentine's Day," suggested Nick.

"I'm shocked that you expect to be able to find anywhere to have dinner without reservations on the shittiest holiday ever," said Tatum.

"You have something against February 14th?" asked Nick.

"It's a holiday made by the candy and card company to make single people feel even crappier about themselves than they did during the holidays when your family wants to know why you're still alone. I think it's a huge scam."

"I'm sorry I asked," said Nick.

"No chick flicks and no Mexican or Indian," said Tatum. Nick gave her a look and parked the truck.

"For real?" asked Nick. Tatum shrugged.

"Why not? Besides we're friends and if everything in there goes has planned in there we'll have something to celebrate." She gave Nick a smile and got out the truck. _Yeah…we're friends, _thought Nick. Nick followed her into the courthouse and noticed that Tatum seemed a bit out of breath and she looked flushed.

"You alright?" asked Nick putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, it was those damn stairs they aren't good for you when your ankles are swollen and you're supporting a beach ball. I'll be fine."

"You sure?" he let his hand stay on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"I'm fine," she took his hand off her shoulder and headed into the courtroom. Nick shook his head and went in.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"We would like to call Detective Tatum Fritz to the stand." Nick watched Tatum get up and he couldn't help but frown. She looked tried and pale now, she took a deep breath and went up to the stand to be sworn in and questioned by ADA Ellrick.

"Now Detective Fritz can you explain how you became involved in the Lana Chekhov case." She took a deep breath and explained about Lucy being trafficked in and how Lucy and Lana were sold and treated by Demetrius Patrof according to what the Lucy had told her.

"Now can you tell the court how the girl's were smuggled in the States?" Tatum took another deep breath, looked down and looked back up at the judge.

"Umm…can….can we take a break please." Patrof's lawyer stood up.

"We would like Detective Fritz to answer the question." The judge looked at Tatum.

"Detective Fritz would you answer the question please." Tatum sucked in a breath and Nick forced himself to stay in his seat. Tatum looked at the judge again.

"I would love to answer the question, trust me I would. But umm…I think my water broke may have broken or I just pissed myself. Either way someone needs to clean this stand before the next witness is called."

"Your Honor the witness is stalling," said Patrof's lawyer.

"And I think I just had a contraction so if I could please step down and start timing those it would be great," said Tatum. Ellrick looked at the judge and than at Tatum on the stand.

"We can call Detective Fritz back to the stand at another time if needed. We also have her sworn testimony in the case to present to the jury if she can't come back due to her condition."

"This is a trick Honor," snapped Patrof's lawyer. Tatum stood up and got off the stand and Nick along with the others in the room noticed her pants were wet and that did it for him and he left his seat and walked up to her ignoring the order to go back to his seat.

"You gonna be alright?" asked Nick putting an arm around her without even thinking about it.

"I think so."

"Court will resume tomorrow at ten. ADA Ellrick will read Detective's Fritz's statement at that time if she's unable to return to the stand. Court is in recess until than. Should we call you an ambulance Miss. Fritz?" asked the Judge

"I think we can drive," said Tatum.

"Come on," said Nick supporting Tatum and walking with her out of the courtroom and ignoring the mummers around them.

"I can walk," said Tatum taking a few shaky steps and hissing in pain. Nick sighed and wrapped and arm around her waist.

"Just let me help you ok." She put an arm around his neck and leaned against him.

"Alright…let's do this."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I fucking hate you! Get out of my room!" snapped Tatum grabbing the bedrail as another contraction came.

"Now we agreed that I could be in here when you had the baby," said Nick calmly. They had been here for about five hours and she was only a few centimeters dilated so all they could do was wait.

"That was before you told me I couldn't have the drugs. Well fuck you and that noise. When the nurse comes back I'm getting some drugs and you can shut the hell up," said Tatum.

"Why don't you try the breathing we talked about," said Nick trying not to grin.

"You wanna breathe you get on this hard ass bed and you breathe," hissed Tatum.

"Just try ok." Tatum took a few deep breaths and Nick took her hand off the bedrail and held it. "It's gonna be alright." She gripped his hand and he did his best not to wince.

"Still hate you."

"Good to know." He sat on the bed next to her and brushed back her hair. "You wanna walk like the nurse suggested." Tatum shook her head and her vice like grip on his hand eased up but she still held it.

"If someone had told me that you and I would be having kids after the first time we met I would have laughed at them. You were a jerk." Nick looked down at her and frowned.

"I was a jerk?"

"Yeah a huge one…you don't remember do you?" Nick thought back and remembered what she was talking about.

"Hey you know you weren't the nicest person either and I made up for it didn't I?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

November 2006

Nick couldn't believe what he was hearing from the lab gossip. Some freak had attacked Jenna in her own bakery by throwing red paint in her eyes. According to what Brass had told him Jenna was released from the hospital and was at home with Greg. Nick was worried though to hear that a newbie from Days was working the case and Nick was looking around the lab to find the CSI and see if he could take the case out of their hands. He had never had any trouble taking a case from Days, especially that crossed shifts and since Jenna's case fell right at the end of Night shift and started Day shift he hoped to get it without a fight.

Nick poked his head into a layout room where a young woman with bright red hair was swabbing a shirt covered in paint and listening to the Nelly Furtado.

"Excuse me." She looked up and Nick had to admit the new girl on Days was sort of cute. "Hi I'm Nick Stokes." She turned off the radio and took off her gloves to shake his hand.

"Tatum Fritz."

"Tatum?" asked Nick getting a look on his face and she grinned.

"My dad liked the actress so I got stuck with her name. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Um yeah…you're working on the case with Greg Sander's girlfriend. "

"Oh yes I am." She turned back to the shirt and Nick realized it was Jenna's shirt covered in paint. "I was documenting the spatter. I want to prove that he was about six inches away from her when he threw the paint." She grabbed a white test shirt and was putting it on a dummy.

"Actually I was wondering if you wouldn't mind a helping hand on the case?" asked Nick.

"Oh it's alright I'm almost finished here," said Tatum dressing the dummy and grabbing the paint and throwing it on the dummy. "Don't you nightshift guys ever go home?"

"Sometimes…most of the time we just sleep in the break room or the morgue if the beds are free." She laughed and Nick laughed too. "So are you sure you don't need any help with this." A frown crossed her face.

"Um no, I'm good." She picked up a camera to take pictures of the spatter and Nick spoke up.

"Because I'm free to collect at the scene or question the guy." Tatum sat the camera down and looked at him.

"Do I look like a five year old to you? I can work a simple assault case by myself. I have the scene documented, the guy is in custody with Vega, the victim's and several eyewitness statements and he's confessing already so what do you wanna do? Develop the film or clean up the scene. Seriously what do you guys have against dayshift? I've only been here a few months and all I get is attitude from all the other shifts. I mean really who shat in the coffee around here?" Nick was taken aback by the younger woman's outburst, all he wanted to do was help and she was ripping him a new one.

"I was just trying to be polite and you're giving me attitude."

"I told you I was fine and that I could handle it and you kept poking at me. So you either think I'm a moron and need the help or you wanna ask me out and you're failing at that. Hell could freeze over right now and I wouldn't date you."

"I don't think you're a moron and I'm not trying to ask you out…"

"Why am I not good enough for you?" asked Tatum. Nick started to feel his head start to spin he had pulled a double and his newbie was running him in circles.

"You just said you wouldn't date me even if hell froze over."

"Because you think I'm a moron and I don't go out with people who that of me after knowing me for about three minutes."

"This is…look Greg and Jenna are my friends and I just wanna be sure that this is going to not create anymore issues for them. No loose ends." Tatum looked at him.

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place instead of coming at me like I'm the damsel in distress?" She had a point he had been a bit belittling towards her when he should have just been straightforward.

"Listen I'm almost finished with everything here. I'm gonna question the guy with Vega and when I write my report you can have a copy. Sound fair?" asked Tatum.

"Sounds fair." Tatum shook his hand.

"Great…now I have to finish this and when I'm done I'm going to ask about the opening in swing because I'm tried of the dayshift bias crap. I mean really did someone from dayshift sleep with someone's mom from another shift or what." Nick had to laugh.

"It's a long story that thankfully didn't involve anyone mom."

"Was it someone's dad?" asked Tatum.

"It may have been someone's sister," said Nick. Tatum laughed and nodded her head back at the dummy.

"I need to get back to this so…"

"Oh yeah. I'm gonna head out, just stick the finished report in my locker. Cool?"

"Cool. Have a nice day." She picked up the camera and started taking pictures and Nick headed out. He paused and looked back at her. _Cute girl…shame about the attitude though. Ecklie must love the hell out of her._

When he came in for his shift that night he found a report taped to his door and heard from Catherine that Days was losing the new girl.

"She hasn't been here more than six months and she's already switching shifts. I didn't catch her name. Taylor…Something with a T…"said Catherine.

"Tatum," said Nick. Catherine looked at him. "Her dad liked the actress."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Oh my god thank you so much! You are the best nurse ever," said Tatum watching the nurse inject a pain killer into her IV. Nick caved and agreed that with the doctor that easing her pain would make the labor go faster. Nick was half tempted to ask for one to help ease the pain he had in his arm from Tatum squeezing his arm so hard; he even had some bruises on his arm. The nurse left the room and Tatum laid back in the bed and grinned.

"Oh yes…that is so much better. I feel great!" Nick shook his head.

"Our baby is now going to be stoned."

"Ok when this wears off I'll go back to trying to break your arm. That gonna work for you?" asked Tatum.

"How about I get you something to listen to or read while we wait for that to wear off?" asked Nick.

"Sure run away while you still can." Nick patted her head.

"I'll be back in a minute kay." He left the room and headed down to the gift shop and got a few magazines for them to read and went to get a coffee for himself. While he was waiting for his coffee he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Nick?" He turned around and spotted Tina out of her nurse scrubs behind him with a baby on her hip. Nick looked at the little boy on her hip and saw Warrick Brown looking back at him.

"Hey," said Nick looking at him and than back at Tina. She looked at him and back at the baby.

"Warrick didn't get a chance to tell you did he?" she asked sadly.

"No." Tina sighed.

"You have time to talk?" she asked shifting the baby on her hip.

"Can you walk with me back up to maternity?" It was Tina's turn to look surprised.

"Who's having a baby?"

"Me and a friend of mine are." She gave him a small smile.

"Congratulations. I'll follow you up," Nick got his coffee and he and Tina headed upstairs. They were quite heading to the elevator the baby babbling at Tina.

"What's his name?" asked Nick looking at the baby that had the same green eyes has his best friend.

"Eli…I told Warrick months before he was killed about Eli but he was still mad about what happened and the affair. But we really didn't talk until the night he got arrested. I was his one phone call; I guess I was the only person he could call who wasn't working to get him out.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

May 2008

Warrick looked up from the table has the door opened and Tina shut the door behind her and looked at him like she was torn between pity and being pissed off for having to leave in the middle of her ER shift for her ex-husband.

"Damn it Warrick what the hell did you get yourself into?" she asked sitting down at the table.

"Honestly Tina I have no clue what I got myself into. I didn't kill that fat bastard though you have to believe me." Tina gave him a look.

"You haven't believed me about Eli. Why should I give you this?" Warrick sighed and he suddenly looked much older and tired than he did when she first came into the room.

"Tina…we haven't always been honest with each other and well…you hurt me…you have no idea how much you hurt me." Tina shook her head.

"I was tired Warrick of being second in your life, an afterthought that you had to come home to. I know that maybe you didn't mean to treat me like that but you did all the time." They sat in silence for awhile and Tina spoke up again. "I don't think you killed that guy." Warrick looked up at her and she saw hope in his eyes.

"Really?"

"You're an asshole at times but you would never kill anyone not to mention if you were gonna start offing people wouldn't I be at the top of your list?" joked Tina trying to make light of the situation. She had been working a double shift at the ER when her supervisor told her she had a call from LV County jail and Tina couldn't believe for the life of her that Warrick was been accused of murder and asking to see her. For her part she couldn't understand why she was here, she had a son to take care of. But still deep down she still cared about what happened to the father of her baby. Warrick shook his head and let out a small chuckle.

"Even if I had a list you wouldn't be on it. We…we both screwed up didn't we and I'm sorry for doing you wrong."

"Me too." It was quite between them again and Warrick spoke up again.

"You got a picture of him?" Tina dug around in her purse and pulled out a snapshot and showed Warrick. He took it from her and stared at it.

"He has your eyes," said Tina softly.

"And my huge ass ears…poor baby. Listen…I know we really don't have a chance in hell together and honestly there's someone else I've been thinking about for awhile now, but even though we're not gonna be together if I get out of this mess a boy still needs his dad and no matter how we feel about each other."

"Been telling you that for months Warrick."

"I know. But it's better late than never right?" He looked so sad and desperate Tina reached over and gave him a hug.

"Yeah it is." An officer opened the door.

"Time's up." Tina looked at Warrick and hugged him again.

"Your friends are gonna get you out of this and when they do I expect to see you to meet your son."

"If I get out of this mess," agreed Warrick. Tina stood up.

"They care about you Warrick and do you really think Nick is gonna let you sit here and rot."

"Be lucky if Nicky doesn't kick my ass for getting in this mess." Tina gave him a smile.

"It's gonna be alright Warrick." She turned to go and Warrick called out to her.

"Thank you." She nodded.

"Call me when you get out and you are gonna get out of this."

"If I do, I'll call you. And thank you…for coming." She turned and left the jail. The next time she saw Warrick was when he was being wheeled past her in the ER and into surgery and she was with him when they wheeled him to the hospital morgue and she went home to her son and didn't cry until he went to sleep.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I've been to his gravesite, he always talked about wanting to be next to his grandma and I figured that's where you guys would have buried him. You guys were a better family to him than I ever was," said Tina wiping her eyes and getting off the elevator with Nick. Nick was wrapping his mind around the fact that his friend had a son and that this son was never going to know what a great guy his dad was.

"Warrick was right you guys just made mistakes but Warrick really did care about you and given time he would have been a great dad to Eli." Tina gave him a teary smile.

"Nick Stokes always finds the silver lining to anything, at least that's what Warrick told me and he was right." Eli started to whine and pull at Tina's shirt. "I got get this one home and fed. Good luck with your friend and the baby." Tina turned and went to get back in the elevator and Nick stopped her.

"I know we can't bring Warrick back but if you feel up to someday…let us visit Eli."

"I would like that very much. You take care of your baby Nick Stokes, Warrick would want that."

"I will." They said their good byes and Nick headed back into Tatum's room and she was still tripping on her pain killers and Nick sat down with her.

"You still feeling good?" asked Nick.

"I am great…you should really try this it is the best feeling ever."_ I hope she feels that good when it wears off._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I HATE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!" screamed Tatum seven hours later when she was finally ready to deliver.

"I'm sorry you feel that way now please push," said Dr. Minhi calmly.

"NOT YOU! HIM!!! I HATE HIM AND HIS ACCENT AND HIS SQUARE CHIN AND GOD HELP YOU IF MY SON GETS YOUR SQUARE CHIN AND ALL THE CHILDREN MOCK HIM FOR IT!" Nick was standing behind her and was holding one of her hands and wishing he had taken up the offer for the pain meds his hand was sore and was a bit tired of the verbal abuse coming from her. Than again he heard Hodges suffered some serious verbal abuse when he was with Jenna and that Greg was a bit lucky to not be on the other end of some of the insults Jenna hurled when having Katie.

"I asked you if one condom was going to be enough and it was for one time, if I knew that we were going to have multiple rounds of sex I would have made you go to the damn drug store and saved me nine months of headache!" snapped Tatum after she pushed. Minhi just looked at Nick with a look of pity and amusement and Nick had a feeling this was going to be story the doctor told all his friends over drinks.

"I'm sorry," said Nick.

"Well if you think you're ever touching me again you are dead wrong Nicholas Parker Stokes!" She gripped his hand to near breaking and pushed again once Minhi spoke up.

"We have a head! I think one more should do it," said Minhi.

"I still hate you," muttered Tatum nearly exhausted.

"Well I love you so just deal," said Nick and Tatum just raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah right," she muttered and bore down to push again. Nick was stunned into silence. _I tell her I love her and she dismisses it…what the hell?_

"Push!" said Minhi and Tatum squeezed his hand leaving little nail marks and pushed. "It's a boy!" The sound of crying came and Nick looked up and saw the nurse taking the newborn from Minhi to clean it.

"Is he alright" said Tatum finally letting go of his hand and trying to sit up. The nurse wrapped him up and brought him over.

"He doesn't have the square chin dear," said the nurse handing the still crying baby to Tatum. She took him and just smiled.

"Hi honey. Oh yes I know it was a sucky twelve hours for me too. Shush…don't cry." Tatum kissed the baby on the forehead and got the baby to quite down. "Hi Mattie."

"Mattie?" asked Nick. Tatum looked up and shrugged.

"Well Matthew actually…I mean unless you wanna name him Floyd?"

"No," said Nick looking down at his son and carefully touching his head. "God he looks like you."

"Nah…he just doesn't have your chin. You wanna hold him?" Nick carefully took Matthew from her and held him close. He had stopped crying but was still making little whimpering noises and was looking up at Nick with big blue eyes.

"You're lucky you got a full head of hair. I was bald," said Nick looking at the reddish brown hair. "Hey, hi there Matt." Matthew let out a little sigh and started to doze off.

"We need a name for the records," said the nurse.

"Um…Matthew," Tatum looked up at Nick. "You wanna pick the middle name? Anything but Floyd."

"Warrick," said Nick without a second thought.

"Matthew Warrick Fritz," said Tatum to the nurse and than spelled it out for her. Nick turned his back to Tatum and the nurse and held Matthew and tried to ignore the fact that his son didn't have his last name and that the person he was in love with dismissed it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"All happy and fed now?" asked Tatum rubbing Matthew's back waiting for the nurse to come back to take him. Nick had left to go pick up some stuff from the house and now that she was alone it gave her a chance to think about what she wanted and needed to do.

"Well Mattie here we are and I have no clue what to do next. Well…I should really get on that house hunting thing get us a place of our own." She liked living with Nick but it was his home not hers. She was a guest in a home of a guy she had almost let herself fall for, a guy who fathered the little boy she was holding but still it wasn't her place and besides if he wanted to start seeing other people or do whatever the hell single guys like to do when they were alone he couldn't do it with her living there with a baby.

_"Well I love you so just deal"_ What the hell did that mean? They agreed to just being friends and he was throwing the L word out there like it was nothing. _I mean yeah I love him like a friend, he fathered my son, but in love with him…_Tatum shook her head she had her fill of being in love from Alec and from her high school boyfriend being in love with someone had only caused her trouble and right now she was about keeping her life on track.

"I love you so much sweetie and I wish your big brother was here. I'm really not good at lot of stuff but I was a damn good mom so you have that going for you." Matthew balled up his hand and cooed at her. Tatum took his hand and kissed it.

"Such a good baby, who's my good little man? Are you my good little man?" She held him so he was resting on her chest and Matthew rubbed his face on her gown and made little noises at her and she rubbed his back.

"It's going to be fine…I promise." She kissed his head again and grinned looking at him.

"Alright if I came in?" Tatum looked up and Nick was standing in the doorway and she made herself ignore the little twist in her stomach.

"He's going to sleep again," said Tatum looking at Matt. Nick came in, sat the stuff down, sat down next to her and started rubbing Matt's head and the baby made a noise at him and grabbed at Tatum. "You wanna hold him again before the nurse comes back?"

"Yeah," Nick leaned over and took Matthew from her carefully. He cradled the baby and smiled at him. "He has your eyes." They sat quietly for awhile until the nurse came to take him back the nursery.

"If you're feeling up to it we can have you and blue eyes checked out by Monday," said the nurse putting Matthew in his bed.

"Sure," said Tatum. "If you're not handing out pain killers anymore no reason for me to be here."

"Lord help you if this baby grows up to be a smartass like his mama," said the nurse looking at Nick before leaving the room with Matt.

"Better a smartass than a dumbass," said Tatum making herself sit up. Nick shook his head and reached for a fast food bag."

"You want some dinner?"

"What do you think?" asked Tatum. Nick handed her a burger and some fries and they had dinner together. Nick turned on the T.V. in the room and they started watching reruns of Mythbusters.

"Well not really what I had in mind for Valentine's Day but I tried," said Nick jokingly then he sat a little box on the bed and Tatum gave him a look.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"Actually it already belongs to you." Puzzled Tatum picked up the box and opened it. Inside was her Star of David necklace, the one she had being wearing at the Christmas party and thought she had lost after being attacked.

"It was considered evidence against Nigel, but since your case is close the evidence was released. I took it to have it repaired, sorry it took so long but it was hard to find someone who could repair it." Tatum took it out of the box and held it in her hand tightly.

"It's over sixty years old. It belonged to my great-grandmother. She sent it with my grandmother who came to the States in 1936 with my uncle when Hitler really started cracked down on Jews. My grandmother and uncle were planning on trying to bring the rest of the family here but the deportations started before they could and by 1939 they lost contact with the whole family and by 1945 they knew that my great-grandparents died in the Bergen-Belsen from typhus, my other aunt and her husband were killed in a death march and almost everyone they knew was gone. This was all they had left…I really thought I was never gonna see it again." She wiped her eyes quickly.

"Lot of history tied up in this little thing. Thank you for having it fixed and giving it back to me." She unhooked the chain and went to put it on and was having trouble getting the hook into the eye.

"Here let me," said Nick. He took the necklace from her and carefully hooked the chain for her.

"Thanks," said Tatum. She looked up at Nick and their eyes locked, Nick leaned down and moved some hair out of her face.

"Tate," Their faces were an inch apart and Tatum went to say something.

"Sorry we're late, plane changes and delays are the worse," said a voice. Tatum pulled back quickly and Nick wanted to curse his parents' shitty timing. He turned and forced himself to smile at his parents and introduced them to Tatum and both of them tried to ignore how they felt during those few seconds.

Notes –Sorry for the _**super**_ long delay. Lots of things have being going on in my personal life. I finished college/took a trip to Holland with my fiancée's family/set a wedding date for next year and trying to plan said wedding. Hopeful I can squeeze in some time to finish this fic.

Love it, hate it, review it please.


	19. Things we really want

Things we really want

March 2009

Nick sat in the locker room with his head in hands and was trying not to cry. _It wasn't fair she was just a kid and she didn't deserve to die like that not by the person she thought was her mother. How could you raise a child and than kill them in a parking lot over a hair cut._ It was his fault, if he figured out that Nicole Jones had murdered Tanya Carroway back in December, Haley would still be alive. _She was a sweet kid._ Nick remembered the first time he met the teenager at a crime scene at Park Pines Motel. She was leaning against a car without a care into the world wearing a blue plaid shirt and reddish brown hair.

_"Hey…so what happened?" He grinned he was used to look-loos and busy bodies but she seemed genuinely interested in what happened._

_"What's your name?"_

_"Haley. What's yours?" _

_"Nick." She started following him._

_"Nick, so what happened?" She stopped following him when he got to the door with the yellow tape._

_"Well Haley, that's what I have to figure out." _ _When goo from a dead body in the ceiling came down on Super Dave, Nick realized they had another DB in the ceiling somewhere. He went over to the next room trying to figure out how to best get in the crawl space and she was back again. _

_"Figure it out yet?" she asked leaning in the doorway._

_"No, no not yet Haley." She gave him a look that all teenagers give adults when they feel like they are being short changed._

_"You can tell me! I'm not scared of that stuff." Nick had to hold back a grin, she was a lot different from normal teenage girls. He wondered if he was looking at a future Sara Sidle._

_"I can see that." From outside he heard what he assumed to be her mother calling for her and she gave him that annoyed teenage look again._

_"If it was up to her I'd be locked in my room all day. But I told her forensics is just a science you know? You go to school for it…but you don't look my chem teacher." Oh it's a teenage version of Sara Sidle alright and she's flirting and 15 will get you 20 and that's the last thing I need today._

_"Thanks. I think." She grinned and slipped away._

She was a sweet girl who got screwed over by everyone who was supposed to be her friends and her family for no reason at all. Nick rubbed his forehead, he should head home. Tatum had been working three days a week trying to get used to working again and leaving Matthew with a daycare. She was off today and he wanted to spend time with her and Matthew. _This is one of the shittiest birthday's ever._ He found that he couldn't make himself get off the bench in the locker room to head home. _Haley is never gonna finish school, or have a family, or have a shitty birthday._

"You alright?" asked Ray looking into the locker room.

"She didn't have to die Ray," said Nick without thinking.

"You're right she didn't have to die." Nick shook his head and looked back at his locker and Ray came into the room. "You aren't beating yourself up about this?" _It's my fault; she's dead because of me._ Nick got up and started to pace.

"If I could have figured out what was going on in Tanya Carroway's murder sooner than Nicole Jones would have been locked up and Haley would still be alive."

"I knew you were a fellow masochist," joked Ray and Nick gave a chuckle. "So what's your favorite form of self-flagellation? Mine is getting on line and go to this movie website, find my favorite movie of the moment and read all the comments about why this movie is horrible and why I have such horrible taste and when I really can't sleep I like to sculpt orchids because it's the only thing that will quite the voices in my head." Nick felt himself tear up, he knew what it was like to hear the voices of those that couldn't be helped and tonight her's was the loudest of them all.

"Tonight there is only one voice and she keeps asking me 'what happened…what happened?'"

"What happened is a young girl died because of events that were set in motion before she was born." Nick nodded and tried to stop crying. "It doesn't make you feel any better does it?" Nick shook his head no. "You know Nick…everyone keeps telling me what this job isn't about but what you're feeling right now tells me what it is and I'm so sorry. You should go home…spend some time with people who really care about you. Matt's five weeks now?"

"Five and a half…thanks Ray."

"We're a team and a family right. Go spend some time with yours." Ray turned and left the locker room. Nick went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face, got his stuff and headed out. He got in his truck and drove home, he was happy to see that Tatum's car was parked in the driveway. He was starting to hope that maybe she had given up trying to find her own place and was planning to stay with him.

He headed into the house and sat his stuff down and started looking for her. She was in the kitchen making lunch and listening to the radio. She looked at him and without a word she reached into the fridge and handed him a beer and sat it next to a plate with a sandwich and chips. Nick gave her a look.

"You don't drink."

"Just because I don't drink doesn't mean you can't drink in front of me. I can tell that you had a bad shift." She sat on the stool across from him.

"Where's Matt?" asked Nick opening the beer.

"Sleeping upstairs and you're avoiding the topic." Nick sighed and took a sip of his beer and related what happened on his shift about Haley Jones. He felt himself start to tear up and Tatum gave him a hug.

"Guess now would be a bad time to wish you happy birthday and tell you that I had a good day at work." He chuckled and she pulled out of the hug. "I got you a present, it's a small one but I think you'll really like it a lot!"

"I like presents," said Nick. Tatum grinned and handed him a small box. He opened it up and inside was a house key, well the copy he had made for her. "I don't get it."

"I'm giving you the greatest gift of all. Your life back!"

"What?"

"I finally found a place and if everything goes right by next week I should be a home owner so I won't need that anymore. Just think you can pee with the bathroom door open, watch porn without fear of being caught, walk around naked or whatever you used to do before I moved in." She smiled and picked up the lunch dishes. Nick sat there stunned, how could she think that her leaving was great? She reached over and turned up the radio

_Here I am  
Lost in the light of the moon  
That comes through my window  
Bathed in blue  
The walls of my memory  
Divides the thorns from the roses  
It's you and the roses_

Touch me and I will follow  
In your afterglow  
Heal me from all this sorrow  
As I let you go

I will find my way  
When I see your eyes  
Now I'm living  
In your afterglow

"When did you have time to house hunt?" asked Nick. Tatum turned and looked at him. His tone was all shitty and pissed off, _Jesus I know you had a bad shift I thought this was great news._

"Matt sleeps for like 15 hours a day and we have the internet with websites about buying homes in Vegas and I looked at one a few days ago when Matt was at daycare and I got off shift. It's a really nice neighborhood and it's not that far from here so you can stop by and see Matt anytime you want."

"Why?" asked Nick.

"Why what?" asked Tatum confused.

"I…I thought you liked staying here."

"I do…but it's your house. Not mine…I'm a guest."

_Here I am  
Lost in the ashes of time  
But who owns tomorrow  
In between  
The longing to hold you again  
I'm caught in your shadow  
I'm losing control  
My mind drifts away  
We only have today_

Touch me and I will follow  
In your afterglow  
Heal me from all this sorrow  
As I let you go

"No. You're more than a guest," said Nick. "Have I made you feel like that…like you were a guest?" Nick felt that familiar tightening in his chest looking at her. He was too damn old for this he had only been 38 years old for a few hours and was wondering if a heart attack was really possible. They hadn't talked about what nearly happened in the hospital room that night and they had gone back to the way things were before and Nick was realizing that he had been stalling for far too long. Yeah it was only a few blocks but that wasn't the point he didn't want her to go anywhere.

"No you haven't. But this is your house I really have no say here and I want my own home where I don't have to put hair ties on the bathroom door and I hate that rug in the front room and I want a yard where I can have a garden and besides can you imagine how weird it would be to explain to dates you bring home who I am? Can't get your freak on with your baby mama in the next room." She went to put the dishes away and Nick took her by the arm.

"I don't want to see other people." Something in his tone scared Tatum a bit, something she really wasn't used to. She eased out of his grip.

_I will find my way  
I will sacrifice  
Now I'm living  
In your afterglow  
Bathed in blue  
The walls of my memory  
Divides the thorns from the roses  
It's you who is closest_

"Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even six years from now but just think you'll have that freedom now when I get my own place." She headed into the laundry room and Nick was right on her heels.

"Do you wanna see other people?" asked Nick. She took the dry clothes out and threw towels into the dryer.

"I'm not seeing anyone and I really don't know if I will but really what the hell is the problem here?" She turned her back to him to get a drier sheet.

"I love you that's the problem!" snapped Nick. They both froze realizing what had been said. Tatum snapped out of it first and put the dryer sheet in and started the towels.

"I love you too…we're friends and…" Nick cut her off.

"Tatum I'm _in_ love with you." She just looked at him blankly, and than she shook her head, pick up the clothes basket and walked passed him.

"Don't say things you don't mean." Nick stood there stunned and than he felt pissed off in ways he had never felt before. _Don't say things I don't mean! _It was worst than her bushing off of what he said to her in the hospital, he could understand her bushing off a half ass 'I love you' when in massive amounts of pain from childbirth but this was different and he really meant it and she was brushing it and him off again. He turned and left the laundry room and found Tatum folding clothes in the living room.

"What was that supposed to mean?!" yelled Nick.

"Quite you'll wake up Matt!" hissed Tatum.

"No it's _my_ house and I'll yell if I want to! What do you mean 'don't say things I don't mean'?"

"You don't love me Nick…"

"Yes I do!" She shook her head again.

"You're scared that if I move out you won't see Matt anymore," Nick cut her off again.

"No…that's not it by a long shot and you know it!" She turned her back to him and started sorting the socks.

"You don't love me so don't lie. You've just had a shitty day and me moving out has you freaked." Nick grabbed her by her arm and made her look at him. "Let go of my arm!"

"Not until you listen to me. You think I'm lying about being in love with you!"

"Stop saying that and let go of my arm!" snapped Tatum trying to pull away but Nick held on.

"I have tried my damnest to not be in love you and I can't Tate! You're one of the few people that…I can let my guard down with, that I can be really happy with, who understands. I shouldn't have left that night…but the only reason I went to you is because I knew I could be honest with you and you wouldn't judge me and I left because how I felt about you scared me."

"You're really the only person I've ever been totally honest with and I missed you. When you left the lab I missed you so much-the jokes, the girl names, everything and when I saw you with Alec it hurt to know that he was with you and that I lost one of the best things ever and I love you Tatum." Nick let go of her arm and Tatum rubbed it. They both stood there quite for what felt like forever and Tatum looked up and spoke softly.

"I…I can't…I'm really sorry I can't." she turned and ran up the stairs and Nick heard a door open and shut upstairs. She left a baby monitor sitting on the table and Nick could hear her upstairs pacing. Nick sat on the sofa trying not to cry when he heard her talking through the baby monitor.

"Is this a bad time….no he's fine…it's just…he told me that he loved me daddy." There was a long pause. "I told him I couldn't…because I can't." There was another long pause.

"Because it always ends bad…always and in the end it never means anything." Nick turned off the monitor and headed upstairs and listened. "I don't know. I really don't…we tried before and all it did was lead to me getting screw over." Nick put his hand on the knob and went to turn the knob and found the door was locked. _ I didn't mean to screw you over._

"Ok...thanks for listening…I will. Bye daddy." Nick went to his room and shut the door and laid on his bed defeated. He watched the clock on his bedside, listen to bags being packed in the next room, Matt's cries and Tatum shushing him and three hours later she knocked on his door.

"I…um…I'm gonna stay at hotel for a few days with Matt. Just until the house thing gets settled. I'll drop Matt off with you before my shift tomorrow morning…I'll come back for my stuff when things are settled. Bye Nick." He heard her walk down the stairs, the front door shut and her car drive away.

"I still love you," he said after the car drove away and he cried himself to sleep. _Worst birthday ever._ All he heard afterward in his head was Tatum telling, '_I can't'_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tatum went upstairs and locked the door to her room. She sat down on her bed, got up and started to pace. He wasn't supposed to fall in love with her, she was fucked up. She wasn't supposed to fall in love with him, it never ended well she ruined everything or got screwed over. _Why, why couldn't he just leave well enough alone…we had a good friendship thing. Yeah the sex and a baby changed things a lot but we still could have stayed friends why did he have to fuck it up with an 'I'm in love you!' _

_But you love him back…_

_I did and than I got tried of the hot/cold bullshit and being screw over!_

_He missed you when you left, you know he's sorry about how things went down between you guys; maybe this time…it's for real._

_I loved Alec for real and look where it got me?_

_But Alec didn't love you back, Nick does though._ She wiped her eyes and reached for her cell phone, her father was on base so she knew she would be able to reach him and maybe have someone to help her make sense of how she got here. He picked up on the third ring and she trying not to cry but he heard it anyway.

"Is this a bad time?" asked Tatum between sniffles. _Crying over a man again something you promised you would never do again._

"It's never a bad time when you call me sweetie. What's wrong, is Mattie alright?"

"He's fine…it's just…he told me that he loved me daddy."

"Nick did…is that such a bad thing? He really does care about you sweetie," said Wallace.

"I told him I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't." Her father sighed on the other end

"Tatum, I know that deep down under that hard ass I raised is a sweet girl who is very loving and never says she can't to anything. Now why can't you love him?"

"Because it always ends bad…always and in the end it never means anything."

"I know your mother and I didn't give you the best example of what a good relationship should be like and those guys were assholes who didn't deserve you for a second. I hate that they've screwed you over so badly you can't be in love with someone who loves you. I know that it's hard to get trust back but Tatum why not give it a chance." _Because I was ready to go there and I got hosed._

"I don't know. I really don't…we tried before and all it did was lead to me getting screw over." She heard his footsteps on the stairs and heard his hand on the door._ Please just leave me alone, I need to think…please just let me think!_

"I think you need some time away from Nick. I know that you'll do what's right in the end. But right now you need some breathing room."

"Ok."

"If you need anything, anything at all, you call me and I'll fly you out here alright."

"Thanks for listening."

"I'm you're father that's my job. I want you to think long and hard about this one Tatum. He's not like the others but don't make yourself do something you don't wanna do. Really think about this."

"Alright I will. Bye daddy." She heard his footsteps go away and she heard him shut his bedroom door. Tatum let out a sigh of relief. Matt was still sleeping and Tatum picked up her suitcase from under the bed and started putting her clothes and Matt's neatly in the case. Matt woke up fussy and see fed him, changed him, played with him while she got there things around and he went back to sleep. She grabbed her over night bag and Matt's diaper bag. She picked up the sleeping baby carefully and went to Nick's door and knocked softly.

"I…um…I'm gonna stay at hotel for a few days with Matt. Just until the house thing gets settled. I'll drop Matt off with you before my shift tomorrow morning…I'll come back for my stuff when things are settled. Bye Nick." She walked down the stairs and he didn't stop her, she left the house and he didn't stop her, she got Matt in his car seat, got into the driver's seat and drove away.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nick got up later on and hated how quite the house was, he had never realized noticed it before but once Tatum moved in he would wake up to the sounds of another person in the house and realized it was something he had missed for sometime and now that it was gone it was just cruel. He went across the hall and into Tatum's room and stood there. She had left a lot of her stuff here including her briefcase with all her case notes. _She has to be in court tomorrow and she's gonna freak that she doesn't have her notes._ He sighed and left the room and got ready for work and spotted the box with house key sitting on the counter. _It's my own damn fault for waiting so damn long._ The phone rang and Nick picked it up.

"Stokes."

"Hey Nick its Ryan Tudor is Tatum there I need to talk to her about something." Tatum's old boss from Swing along with the rest of the lab knew that Tatum was staying with him so he couldn't blame them for calling here looking for her right now.

"Um you can try her cell she's out right now," said Nick.

"Ok I'll do that. Well I have some good news for her and maybe for you so I'll see you later." Ryan hung up the phone and Nick made himself some coffee and wondered what hell Ryan wanted. _Maybe she's buying his house,_ thought Nick bitterly.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"All nice and clean now," said Tatum finishing up Matt's bath and wrapping him up in a towel. They were staying at a Holiday Inn near the lab and was able to get a room with a crib with no trouble at all and with a discount since she was a cop. She laid Matt down on the bed and got him dressed in his bear pajamas. _Nick's mom got him these pajamas._ Matt waved his arms up at her, smiled and started to coo at her. Everyone said Matt was a splitting image of her but looking at him with that smile she saw Nick. Matt may look like her but she could see that Matt was going to have Nick's temperament of being real easy going, sweet and quick with a smile that could make you weak in the knees.

"Really kid why are you so damn happy? You have me for a parent; while I'm good at the mommy thing I suck hard core at everything else." Matt muttered at her which Tatum guessed was baby talk for 'Oh really do tell!' She lay down next to Matt and rubbed his back.

"Mommy sucks at having adult relationships." She picked Matt up and laid him on her chest. "If I were to have a good, loving, adult relationship the world may end kiddo." Matt grabbed her shirt and rubbed his face on her chest. "My relationship with you doesn't count, you're not an adult if we get to 18 and we don't wanna kill each other than we'll call it a success."

Matt sighed and Tatum could tell he was getting ready to crash. She kissed the baby on his head and rubbed his back. Nick liked to lie on the sofa with Matt before he went to work and the baby would fall asleep on Nick's chest. _He's missing that right now._ _After Matt goes to bed you guys have a quick dinner and joke that he's gonna have to go dumpster diving or talk about what case is open. That's something people who have a good adult relationship have right?_ She carefully got up and put Matt in the crib, she pulled a small blanket over him when her cell went off. She quickly answered it before it woke up Matt.

"Hello," said Tatum.

"Hey Tatum its Ryan. You free to talk right now?"

"Sure I guess." She sat down on the bed.

"Well I'm not gonna beat around the bush…how would you like to come back and work at the lab again?" If she hadn't been sitting down she would have fallen over.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"You alright?" asked Greg. Nick didn't look up from the reports he was working on and shrugged. Greg sat a coffee down in front of Nick and went to his desk in the shared office. "So Tatum's car wasn't there last night and it's not there this morning. She get a place?" Nick said nothing and kept working. "You know the girls are out and Ray's in another training session and all the lab rats are busy."

"I don't wanna talk about it G."

"Ok we'll talk about the cake Jenna made for you yesterday. Did you like it she worked really hard on it and Katie helped." Nick looked up.

"Jenna has her training already?"

"Katie likes to crack the eggs into bowl. It's her new favorite saying-'crack egg, crack egg'. Do you have any idea how bad it sounds when you're in the store and your daughter wants a crack egg? People think I'm a druggie storing my crack in eggs." Nick couldn't help but laugh.

"Thought I tasted egg shell in that cake now I know why. Child labor made that cake," said Nick.

"Yes we're horrible parents; we beat her daily and toss her in the cat carrier. Wait until Matt starts talking and he'll say something horribly wrong in a public place and you'll wish that you could drop dead on the spot." Greg reached into his desk for some paper and Nick looked at him. Greg lived with Jenna and Katie and even then he missed out on a lot of her millstones-her birth, her crawling, her first words, feeding herself and the young CSI beat himself up about not being there. _I'm gonna miss all of Matt's cause I won't be there._ _Tatum was right that I would freak about that._

"So I'm going to guess by the super spaced out and depressed look on your face that Tatum did move out," said Greg.

"Yeah," said Nick and he tossed a finished report in the bin and moved on to the next.

"You didn't want her to," said Greg, Nick sighed and realized that Greg wasn't going to let up until Nick told him the whole story. He got up and shut the office door.

"I told her that I loved her and she told me that she couldn't and she packed up her and Matt's stuff and decided to stay at a hotel until she got her new place." Greg nodded.

"I know how you feel man…when Jenna left…"

"Jenna came back though and she loves you."

"She wasn't in love with me when she left town. I didn't know when she was coming back to town and I didn't know if she was gonna come back to me when she did." Nick was quite and took a sip of the coffee.

"I just…I told her that I loved her and she told me that she couldn't. I just wish I hadn't screwed things up between us so bad you know. If I had told her sooner maybe things would have turned out different."

"Maybe she can't right now Nick. She's been through a lot the past couple of months. The person she was in love with turned out to be a psycho, she just had a baby and you come at her with 'I love you' and she just freaked out, had a fight or flight reaction and chose flight."

"I know G. I just…I've never felt like this about anyone and I don't know what do anymore to make it right between me and her" Greg sighed.

"I know this is gonna sound lame but maybe after everything she's been through she's never felt like this about anyone before either and she just needs to process." Nick took a sip of his coffee and went back to his paper work.

"I just don't wanna lose her or Matt G." Greg turned back to his desk.

"You'll only lose them if you give up."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Nick. Tatum is here with Matt," said Mandy sitting the reports on his desk. Nick looked at the clock and realized that is was almost seven am.

"Thanks Mandy." He stood up and left the office and headed to the front desk. He paused and looked at Tatum standing by the front desk talking with Ryan; Matt was in his car seat on the front desk. She was wearing a dress pants with a white button shirt and dress jacket. Her hair was pulled back in a braided bun and she was wearing her 'Tina Fey' glasses. _She's so damn pretty._

"Hey," said Nick.

"Hey," said Tatum and Ryan turned to Nick pleading.

"Good you're here maybe you can talk some damn sense into her." _I wish I could._

"About what?" asked Nick.

"About taking the Swing shift supervisor position." Nick looked at Tatum who shrugged.

"He just asked me about it last night and my answer is still no." Ryan just looked at like she was crazy.

"Listen Ecklie is the Undersherriff, they moved the supervisor from Days into Ecklie's spot and they decided I need to be on Days and now if we can get you on Swing maybe the lab will finally work together and all the supervisors will get along."

"And maybe we'll have peace in the Middle East before Thanksgiving," joked Tatum.

"Come on Tate, admit you miss being here and you wanna come back," said Ryan. She grinned, looked at Matt and than back at Ryan and Nick.

"I like where I am at Y&F and I'm…well I'm happy there." Ryan's jaw dropped.

"You like being surrounded by abused kids, subhuman perverts and wife beaters?" Tatum sighed.

"It's more than that…it's about the people and the fact that there's always a second chance with them. That they can start over," she looked around the lab and shook her head. "Here…it's over and I'm tried of endings." She looked at Nick when she said that. _What the hell is she getting at, _thought Nick. Ryan sighed sensing defeat.

"Ok…you win round one but hopefully he'll talk some sense into you. Have a good morning. What are you going to court for?" asked Ryan.

"One of my abuse victims is getting adopted today," said Tatum grinning.

"Lucy?" asked Nick.

"Yeah."

"Well guess you were right about second chances. Later," said Ryan walking away leaving Nick and Tatum looking at each other and Judy was slowly packing her stuff up waiting for something to happen.

"So…I'll walk you to your truck," said Tatum picking up Matt's car seat.

"Sure." They headed out to the parking garage and they were quite until Tatum spoke up.

"Did I ever tell you why I became a CSI?"

"No."

"I just had Joey and I had no job, no money for school and one of my grandfather's poker buddies told me I could make about twenty eight thousand a year for learning how to take pictures of dead people and picking up stuff at crime scenes and that the Salt Lake City PD would pick up my schooling tab. So I decided to take the classes, got the job and didn't look back. After Joey died the job was all I had, so I stayed with it even after I moved here. But…after we…I just I knew that I needed a change. I just wanted…to not…feel this way anymore. And even if I could come back to the lab, I don't know if I could ever _really_ come back," said Tatum slowly looking at Nick.

In some Nick understood what she was trying to get at, she left because she was just tried of feeling lost, hurt, alone the way he had felt when Warrick died and when she left.

"You can if you want and I wish you would come back."

"Me too…I um have to get to court so I should get going."

"Yeah right, umm you left your case notes in your briefcase at the house. I brought your case with me. I forgot it in the office, can you wait here a minute?"

"Sure." Nick nodded and ran back inside. Tatum sighed and looked down at Matt; he was awake again and was babbling at her. She grinned at him and sat him on the hood of Nick's truck.

"I love you bunches sweetie. You be good for daddy today ok."

"Here," said Nick handing her the case. Tatum handed him Matt and the dipper bag and took the case.

"Thanks. I'll pick Mattie up after court. I just feed him a little bit ago so he shouldn't need a bottle until about ten."

"Alright…I'll see later. Good luck."

"Thanks," Tatum nodded and headed back to her car. Nick looked down at Matt who was babbling at him.

"Hey buddy. Let's get you home." He got Matt in the backseat and strapped him in. _I hope she meant what I thought she meant…that there is a chance._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_1,2,3,4  
Tell me that you love me more  
Sleepless, long nights  
That was what my youth was for_

Oh teenage hopes are alive at your door  
Left you with nothing  
But they want some more

"Hey how about we listen to different song?" asked Tatum. She had picked up Lucy from the group home and they were driving to the court house. Tatum was going to speak in favor of the couple that planned to adopt Lucy. She had met with them several times over the past couple of months and after today Lucy would no longer be staying at the group home, she would be going home with her new parents. All her things were in the backseat and Lucy was up front singing with the radio.

"I like this song," protested Lucy. Tatum grinned; she had come a long way from the little girl who cowered when spoken too.

"Alright," said Tatum. Lucy grinned at started singing loudly with the radio.

_Sweetheart, bitter heart  
Now I can't tell you apart  
Cozy and cold  
Put the horse before the_ _cart_

She had danced with Nick to this song and she had felt something deep down, he was a sweetheart but he had also broken her heart she didn't know if she was coming or going anymore. When Ryan had offered her the job she shocked herself by saying no, she loved what she had at Y&F it was her's and she worked damn hard for it and wasn't going to give it up. It had nothing to do with Nick, her leaving had been but her decision to stay was her own and she was proud of it.

Now she didn't know what to do about Nick, she had stayed up almost all night trying to decide what to do.

_Love him or hate him you guys are stuck together forever now._

_He told you that you could come back…the door is open Tatum._

_Maybe he meant we could stay friends._

_Yeah right…_Tatum pulled into the court house parking garage and parked.

"So you ready Miss. Thing?" asked Tatum. Lucy nodded and they headed into the courthouse. The parents were talking to the judge first so Tatum and Lucy sat on a bench outside the court room.

"You have any gum?" asked Lucy.

"Yeah. Here in my bag," said Tatum handing her the briefcase.

"You know you can still call me anytime you want." Lucy nodded and kept looking though the bag. _Oh she's gonna be fine._

"Hey you have a present," said Lucy.

"What?" asked Tatum, Lucy handed her a little box. It was the one she had put Nick's spare key in. Tatum took it and opened it; the key was still in the box along with a note. _Come home._ Tatum had to bite her lip to keep from crying and she shook her head.

"You alright?" asked Lucy looking up Tatum worried. Tatum wiped her eyes quickly.

"Yeah…everything it gonna be alright."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Damn did your mom feed you at all?" asked Nick after Matt finished a whole bottle in less than three minutes. Nick put him over his shoulder to burp him and felt the baby cling to him.

"You miss me or something?" asked Nick. Matt burped and Nick saw that Matt was drifting off to sleep. He lay down with Matt on chest. "I missed you last night…guess I better get used to that huh?" Matt yawned and held on to Nick's shirt. "Sorry if I'm keeping you up." The baby fell asleep and Nick held him close and kissed the Matt's head.

"You know I really wanna do right by your mom and no matter what, I think I'm always gonna be in love with her. Even when she calls me girl names." He got up and put Matt in his crib upstairs and went in his room to get a bit of a nap. Since he slept like crap the night before passing out was easy.

_He was back in the damn box and he could see everyone above him and they were leaving him alone. _

_"HEY! HEY! COME BACK!" it was no use they all left. They couldn't hear him. He screamed at the top of lungs, but it wasn't Grissom who came back, it was Tatum and she laid down on top of the case and put her hand on the case._

_"This is how it's always going to be for us…always separate, always something between us."_

_"No! Don't go!" _

"Nick…Nick…hey…." He sat up quickly and Tatum fell off the bed.

"Ow…jezz Sally relax it's just me."

"Shit Tate…sorry." Nick got up and Tatum picked herself up off the floor.

"Bad dreams?" asked Tatum.

"A little one. What time is it?" asked Nick.

"About noon he's right on schedule." They stood there for a moment until Nick spoke up again.

"I'm umm…if you wanna let Matt stay the afternoon I'll drop him off before I go in tonight and…" Tatum cut him off.

"Did you mean it?" asked Tatum.

"What?" asked Nick.

"Did you mean it when you told me you loved me?"

"Honey…"

"Damn it Nick! Yes or no! Just once I want someone tell that it actually means something and that it's not just words. Just once in my life I want it to mean something!" she was near tears and Nick stood in front of her and took her hands in his.

"Yes, I meant it. I love you."

"That's all I wanted to hear," she wrapped her arms around Nick and kissed him. He pulled off her suit jacket, felt Tatum's hands on his waist and he couldn't stop telling her how much he loved her and needed her in his life.

Episode-Turn, turn, turn. I know they have Nick's B-day listed as February but considering how bad this season is I really regret trying to follow it so I changed that one detail.

Songs-Inxs-Afterglow

Feist-1,2,3,4


End file.
